Supreme Court Justice John Okoro, who was once accused of corruption by the State Security Service (SSS), was spotted loitering at a hotel in Benin, the Edo State capital, on Thursday.

This comes as opposition parties prepare to approach the apex court in the case challenging the emergence of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 2024 Edo governorship election, sources told The Peoples Gazette.

A video obtained by The Gazette showed a man who looked like Mr Okoro inside the premises of the Protea Hotel in Benin on Thursday night, with Supreme Court sources later confirming that the individual captured in the clip was indeed the judge, who has been accused of engaging in partisan activities at the expense of the protecting the integrity of the highest court.

Subsequently, Chidi Odinkalu, a rights lawyer with a focus on corruption in the judiciary, confirmed in a post on X Friday that Mr Okoro was indeed in Benin.

Mr Odinkalu said the judge was in Edo to meet the state’s Attorney-General, Samson Osagie, which raised eyebrows in the public due to the meeting coinciding with the imminent move by the Peoples Democratic Party to file an appeal in the Edo election dispute at the Supreme Court.

Mr Osagie categorically denied meeting with Mr Okoro when reached by The Gazette on Friday afternoon, tagging the reports as desperate attempts to bring him down.

“I had no meeting with any justice at Protea, please,” said Mr Osagie. “When has it become an offence to walk freely as Attorney General simply because some losers are desperate to drag everyone down?”

“There is no iota of truth in the online circulation of my meeting with any judicial officer. I seriously object, please,” Mr Osagie said when asked again about his objections to the claims of meeting Mr Okoro.

Meanwhile, Mr Okoro did not return multiple requests from The Gazette seeking comments. A spokesman for the Supreme Court was unavailable Friday afternoon.

Mr Okoro has been at the centre of public scrutiny since he was arrested alongside other prominent judicial officials, including former Supreme Court Justice Sylvester Ngwuta and others, in the October 2016 nationwide sting operation raid of judges’ homes by the SSS agents over widespread corruption allegations in the judiciary.

The secret police said agents found wads of American dollars at his residence, which were believed to have been stashed from compromising cases before the Supreme Court.

However, the senior judge denied that the cash found on him had any ties to illicit proceeds. Mr Okoro also denied all allegations of corruption and was later among the justices allowed to remain on the bench after a secret deal with former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He is said to have become even more partisan since then, deciding most cases in favour of the government or the ruling APC.