In the digital age, misinformation often spreads with a ferocity that outpaces the truth, turning legal proceedings and public figures into the subjects of elaborate, baseless tall tales. Recently, a disturbing rumor began making rounds on social media, claiming that the judge who presided over the panel confirming President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 election victory had suddenly gone blind following a surgical procedure in London. This story didn’t just spark curiosity; it spread like wildfire across platforms like X, fueled by a mixture of malice and confusion. However, a rigorous investigation by THE WHISTLER has officially debunked these claims, confirming that they are entirely fabricated and lacking even a shred of factual foundation.
The confusion surrounding this rumor was exacerbated by the lack of consistency in the misinformation itself. Some versions of the posts pointed to a “Justice Tsamma Abubakar,” while others brazenly attached the same tragic claim to Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the current Chief Justice of Nigeria. The reality is that the former individual does not exist within the records of Nigeria’s judiciary, and the latter, who only assumed her current office in August 2024, played no role in the 2023 Presidential Election Petition Court. By mixing up names and titles, the architects of this falsehood proved they were more interested in generating shock value than in reporting legitimate news.
To set the record straight, the actual Presidential Election Petition Court that ruled on the 2023 election was led by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani of the Court of Appeal. He was joined on the bench by a team of distinguished jurists: Stephen Adah, Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed. Following the successful conclusion of the tribunal, Justice Tsammani was deservedly elevated to the Supreme Court in December 2023. At no point has he, or any member of his panel, reported a loss of vision or any medical emergency of the nature described in these viral posts. Mainstream news outlets and official judicial channels remain completely silent on the matter, precisely because there is no story to tell.
Interestingly, this is not the first time Justice Tsammani has been singled out by trolls and misinformation campaigns. Back in October 2023, shortly after the tribunal reached its verdict, similar rumors circulated claiming that the judge was deathly ill and confined to a wheelchair. At the time, officials from the Court of Appeal were forced to step in and shut down the noise, confirming that the Justice was in good health and continuing his professional duties without interruption. This recurring pattern of targeting a high-profile public servant suggests a calculated effort to undermine his reputation by using his health—a deeply personal and sensitive subject—as a weapon for political discourse.
The methods used to spread this lie are classic hallmarks of digital deception. The posts often featured professionally designed graphics, manufactured headlines, and an invented “What We Know” section to give the impression of an authoritative investigative report. They even went as far as including a fake quote from a “Spokesperson for the Federal Judicial Service”—a body that does not even exist in the Nigerian judicial hierarchy. By relying on such deceptive formatting, the creators of this fiction aimed to bypass the reader’s natural skepticism, presenting a lie so neatly packaged that it felt like an official news update.
In the final analysis, it is vital for the public to recognize these stories for what they are: carefully constructed attempts to manipulate public perception through the spread of fear and falsehood