A POST circulating on social media claims that Justice Simon Haruna Tsammani, the Court of Appeal judge who chaired the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that affirmed President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election, has gone blind after undergoing an eye surgery in London.
The post alleges that the judge was admitted to a specialist hospital in London for what it described as a routine eye procedure but suffered complications during the operation, resulting in the complete loss of his eyesight.
The claim was shared by an X user, @Uno_009, with the caption:
“Breaking: Judge Tsamma Abubakar, who declared Tinubu winner in the 2023 presidential election, reportedly goes blind in a London hospital after undergoing eye surgery. According to reports, the judge was admitted to a specialist hospital in London for what was described as a routine eye procedure. However, doctors allegedly encountered unexpected complications during the operation, resulting in the complete loss of his eyesight.”
As of July 4, the post had generated over 350,000 views, 4600 likes, and over 1200 reposts.
It was also circulated on various social media platforms.
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CLAIM
Justice Simon Haruna Tsammani reportedly went blind after undergoing eye surgery in a London hospital.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Justice Simon Haruna Tsammani is a Justice of the Court of Appeal who chaired the five-member Presidential Election Petition Tribunal constituted to hear petitions challenging the outcome of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
Following the February 25, 2023, presidential poll, the candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, challenged the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the election winner. On September 6, 2023, the tribunal, led by Tsammani, unanimously dismissed the petitions and affirmed Tinubu’s victory.
READ ALSO: Fact-checking Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech
A review of the viral post by The FactCheckHub, however, reveals inconsistencies.
The image used in the post is not that of Tsammani. The photograph actually belongs to Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, the Chief Justice of Ghana. Justice Tsammani is male, while the person depicted in the image is Ghana’s female Chief Justice, indicating that the post falsely identifies the individual it claims to be reporting about.
When contacted, Festus Akande, director of Information and Public Relations at the Supreme Court, dismissed the claim.
“He is still a sitting judge, so how can he be blind? The poster doesn’t know what he’s saying,” he added.
Furthermore, searches across credible media organisations found no report that Justice Tsammani underwent eye surgery in London or lost his eyesight. Given his high-profile role in the 2023 election tribunal, such a development would almost certainly have been reported by reputable news organisations if it occurred.
VERDICT
The claim that Justice Simon Haruna Tsammani went blind after undergoing eye surgery in London is FALSE. The viral post uses the photograph of Ghana’s Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, to falsely depict the Nigerian judge, and there is no credible evidence that he underwent such a procedure or lost his eyesight.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
