The Plateau Maintenance of Justice Group, TPMoJG, has queried the presence of the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike in a Jos high court today.
The group in a statement by its national chairman, Ezekiel Zet, said it suspects that the coming of Wike and his presence at a Jos high court is to intimidate the judiciary with his status as an oil rich governor and to use his enormous wealth and resources to tinker the cause of justice in the trial of the former governor of the state, Jonah Jang who has been charged with alleged misappropriation of 6.3 billion belonging to the state.
The former Plateau governor is standing trial on allegations of misappropriation of public funds and diversion of SUBEB money amounting to the sum of N6.3 billion.
As the case opened in court today, the Rivers State governor was seen in court ostensibly in solidarity with Jang who reportedly slumped in court the previous day.
Zet said Wike's presence is unacceptable to his group and the people of Plateau adding that the TPMoJG will soon be sending a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), to investigate the matter.
"We know that Wike controls billions of naira as Rivers State governor, but we the people of Plateau true to our conscience cannot be intimidated with money and we urge the judiciary to stand its ground and dispense justice without fear of favour.
"It is an insult on the collective intelligence of the people of Plateau for a sitting governor to leave his state and choose to identify not with the teeming populace of another state but with those accused of plundering the resources of the state.'
Comrade Zet said it is obvious from Wike's presence in court that he places partisan and selfish interests over and above the common good.
He said: "Otherwise, how do you explain a situation where the Rivers State governor with all the resources at his disposal failed to identify with the people and Government of Plateau during times of calamities but left his busy schedule as governor to identify with a wrong cause.
"Is he saying that Jang his friend and party man is more important that the entire people and government of Plateau and as far as he is concerned that Plateau people can perish as long as it is well with Jang?
'This is bad leadership and we urge the people of Rivers to call their governor to order before his lack of empathy for the masses and inordinate partisan interest ruins him."