CDD FACT CHECK: Did Acting CJN confess to receiving N5bn from APC?

On March 19, an obscure blog named Exclusive103.com published a news report alleging the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Mohammed Tanko, claimed to have been offered N5 billion by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to accept to be appointed acting CJN after the suspension of the substantive CJN, Walter Onnoghen, over allegation bordering on false declaration of assets.

The report said the acting CJN confessed to not meriting the appointment and that he was not aware that he was specifically appointed to fight, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

Facts:

After a close look at the report of the blog, CDD fact checkers discovered that the claim in the long headline of the report was completely different from the content of the body of the story. In fact, the blog merely copied and pasted a different report by Sahara Reporters.

The said report by Sahara Reporters was about Justice Tanko’s response to a query issued by the National Judicial Council (NJC), for accepting to be sworn in as acting CJN without the approval of the NJC.

Exclusive103.com merely copied the report by Sahara Reporters and slammed a different headline on it with the aim of misleading readers who might not be interested in reading beyond the headline.