The sting
operations carried out by the Department of State Services (DSS) against some
judges across the country are not over yet, as more judges will be arrested and
likely prosecuted for bribe taking in the next few days or weeks, a senior
intelligence officer told reporters in Abuja last night.
The DSS had
on Friday night carried out sting operations in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Gombe and
Kano, hauling in two justices of the Supreme Court, one justice of the Court of
Appeal and four other judges of the Federal High Court, suspected to have
engaged in bribery and large scale corruption.
The
operations, however, attracted angry reactions from the public, particularly
the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), which declared a state of emergency in the
judicial sector, saying the rule of law was under siege even as the National
Judicial Council (NJC) meets today to deliberate on the development.
Yesterday,
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) joined the fray on the side of the embattled
judicial officers, accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of preparing the ground
for fascism by ordering the arrests of the judges.
But the
Presidency in its reaction gave assurances that President Buhari reserved his
highest respect for the judiciary as the third arm of government.
A statement
yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said the president would not do anything to
undermine its independence.
Shehu said:
“Buhari remains a committed democrat, in words and in his actions, and will not
take any action in violation of the constitution.
“The recent
surgical operation against some judicial officers is specifically targeted at
corruption and not at the judiciary as an institution.
“In a robust
democracy such as ours, there is bound to be a plurality of opinions on any
given issue, but there is a convergence of views that the country has a
corruption problem that needs to be corrected.”
The
Presidency regretted that reports by a section of the media were giving it cause
for concern.
According to
it, “In undertaking the task of reporting, the media should be careful about
the fault lines they open. It is wrong to present this incident as a
confrontation between the executive and judicial arms of government.
“The presidency
has received assurances from the DSS that all due processes of the law,
including the possession of search and arrest warrants were obtained before the
searches.
“To suggest
that the government is acting outside the law in a dictatorial manner is to breach
the interest of the state.”
THISDAY
intelligence source, however, said apart from those being detained and
interrogated, another eight judges, including two justices of the Supreme
Court, are also being investigated for mind-boggling corruption cases.
He said a
total of seven judges, including two justices of the Supreme Court — Justice
John Inyang Okoro and Justice Sylvanus Ngwunta — are still being interrogated
by the security services at its headquarters in Abuja and might be charged to
court anytime from today.
“A total of
15 judges are being investigated by the Department of State Services and other
security agencies. Seven of them are currently being interrogated at the DSS
headquarters in Abuja and may be charged to court as from Monday,’’ the source
stated, adding: “While another eight including one or two from the Supreme
Court are still being investigated and more of the judges will be arrested in
the next few days or weeks.’’
The judges
being detained include: Justice Muhammad Ladan Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal;
Justice Kabiru Auta in Kano; Justice Muazu Pindiga who was arrested in Gombe;
the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Auta, and
Justice Adeniyi Ademola.
The
intelligence source said that none of the judges arrested during the DSS’ sting
operations between Friday and the early hours of Saturdayhad been released.
“The seven
judges being detained and interrogated have not been released; their statements
are still being taken; they are cooperating with the interrogators. The
interrogation is taking more time than expected because of the many questions
the arrested judges need to answer,’’ the source said.
THISDAY
gathered that the sting operations carried out against the suspects were the
accumulation of many events, linked to “mind-boggling corrupt practices and the
willingness, determination and desire by the security agents to fight
corruption head-on”.
Justifying
the operations of the DSS, the source said: “If not DSS who else? There is
nothing unusual about the DSS’ actions; it is normal. The security institution
acted within the law guarding its operations.
“The actions
of the suspected judges border on national security. We are talking about huge
corrupt practices and national security that are beyond the mandate of the EFCC
and the ICPC.
“If we talk
about democracy — from the conduct of election to election rigging; issues of
foreign investments; economy and other issues that have to do with our national
security, they all end up in courts. So anybody or institution that tries to
undermine that institution is toying with the national security of our dear nation.’’
In the eyes
of the law, the intelligence officer said, the suspects were not above the law
and didn’t have immunity from being investigated or prosecuted, explaining that
they were ordinary people like every other citizen.
He said the
DSS acted based on petitions it received against the judges. “We have a
situation where one of the judges was so foolish that he entered a departmental
store to collect a bribe from a litigant. We have the evidence including video
recording,’’ the source stated.
Reacting to
several criticisms against the DSS’ action, the intelligence source added that
the agency was ready to defend its action in competent court of law,
challenging whoever felt aggrieved to take the DSS to court.
“During the
sting operations, huge amount of monies, some in foreign currencies, were
collected from some of the judges and they all signed the exhibits recovered in
their houses. The DSS has strong evidence to charge them to court and that will
be done as soon as the interrogation is concluded,’’ the source added.
Responding
to the press statement by the leadership of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA),
which some observers said might create tension in the country, the senior
intelligence officer said: “There is no tension at all. Whoever threatens
national security of the nation will be dealt with.
“Gone are
the days where those on the wrong side will turn around to intimidate us. That
will never happen again in this country.’’
Apparently
responding to the acclaimed illegality of the action of the DSS, the source
said that a search warrant was obtained before the sting operations were
carried out in the affected places, adding that “a warrant signed by a
magistrate court can be executed even in the villa”.
PDP Condemns
Arrests of Judges
Reacting to the
development, the opposition PDP accused the President Buhari-led administration
of displaying total disregard for the rule of law by ordering the arrests of
the judicial officers.
“This
invasion is the latest in a series of actions taken by the President Muhammadu
Buhari administration which reveal its disregard for the rule of law and its
abject disdain for the Principles of Separation of Powers,” it said in a
statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
The party
said by the arrests, the president had shown that he had no desire to respect
the pillars of our democracy, warning that Nigerians could no longer afford to
stand aside and watch the administration destroy the foundations of the
country’s democracy.
The PDP
alleged that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike was assaulted by the men of the
DSS during his intervention, causing him to sustain injuries on his arm.
The party
warned that the nation might be witnessing a descent into fascism. “This
inexorable slide into fascism began with the invasion of the Akwa Ibom State
Government House by the same SSS, the continued detention of several people
despite courts ordering their release, the invasion of the Ekiti State House of
Assembly and detention of Hon. Akanni Afolabi and the invasion of the Zamfara
State House of Assembly,” it said.
The PDP
accused the federal government of disobeying court orders, saying it was
further evidence that the Buhari administration was unwilling to be guided by
law.
According to
the party, “The government has no regard for the rule of law. They do not care
about court orders. This government has disregarded the orders of the ECOWAS
Court and every other court in the land and continues to detain (Col Sambo)
Dasuki illegally. They continue to detain hundreds of Nigerians without
bringing them to trial and against valid court orders.”
The party
argued that the proper way to treat the suspected judges was to report them to
the NJC for disciplinary actions if they had erred.
“For the
avoidance of doubt, the Constitution in Section 153(1)(i) and Part 1 of the
Third Schedule thereto establishes the National Judicial Council (NJC) and
empowers same to regulate and discipline judges across the country. The proper
path to follow to discipline erring judges will be to forward a petition
containing any wrong doing to the NJC along with any evidence in support
thereof,” it said.
APC
Disagrees with PDP
The All
Progressives Congress (APC) said last night that the desperation of the PDP and
some of its governors to drag Buhari into the circumstances surrounding the
arrests of the judges was unfortunate.
“The
President Muhammadu Buhari APC-led administration strictly respects the
principles of the rule of law and also adheres to the constitutional provisions
of separation of powers between the three arms of government,” the APC stated
in a statement by its national secretary, Mr. Mai Buni.
“While the
party calls on all security agencies to respect and be guided by the rule of
law in carrying out its constitutional duties, the APC finds the actions of
some PDP governors and the reckless unsubstantiated allegations levelled by the
PDP on the president fingering him as the architect of the SSS raids curious
and suspicious,” it said.
The APC said
it suspected that the PDP and the Ekiti and Rivers State governors, Ayodele
Fayose and Nyesom Wike, had something to hide, saying it was a red flag that
security agencies must not ignore.
The ruling
party added: “Meanwhile, the APC will not join issues on matters before the
courts because it will be subjudice. We advise the PDP to tow the same line and
allow judicial processes run their normal and legitimate course.”
Wike Picks
Holes in SSS’ Allegations against Judges
Rivers State
Governor Wike berated the DSS for resorting to deliberate misinformation and
concocted stories to justify its “unconstitutional assault on the nation’s
judiciary”.
The governor
said the DSS lacked the constitutional powers to be involved in the legal
process to discipline a serving judicial official, pointing out that there was
a legal process that must be followed.
Addressing
the people of Rivers State on Saturday night during a special dinner for the
management and players of Rivers United at the Government House, Port Harcourt,
Wike said: “The weak blackmail of the SSS will not lessen the crime they have
committed against the Nigerian State by assaulting the judiciary,” noting that
nobody was deceived by the concocted figures being circulated by the SSS.
He said:
“Their blackmail stories will not move me. They will concoct all kinds of
stories to justify this undemocratic illegality perpetrated against the
judiciary.
“It is
really unfortunate that DSS would concoct a false defence that $2 million (that
is N900 million) was found in the house of the judge. It is unfortunate that
the DSS is coming up with flimsy excuses.”
The governor
noted that while he would not condone corruption, he would also not support any
process that was targeted at ruining the nation’s judiciary.
He stated
that the NJC had the responsibility to discipline erring and corrupt judges,
after which indicted judicial officers were handed over to the relevant law
enforcement agency for prosecution.
The governor
said the police, army and other para-military agencies had their
respective processes for the discipline
of erring and corrupt officers.
“In the
police, erring and corrupt policemen are first given orderly room trial, sacked
and then appropriately prosecuted. For judicial officers, the DSS has no role,”
he said.
Wike added:
“This impunity must stop. I am not in support of any judicial officer being
involved in corruption. What we are saying is that the right things must be
done. We must not do things that will jeopardise our hard earned democracy.”
SERAP Calls
for Release of Arrested Judges
The
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open
letter to President Buhari requesting him to use his “good offices and
leadership to urgently instruct the DSS to immediately and unconditionally
release all the judges arrested by them and end the continuing intimidation and
harassment of the judiciary”.
It said: “If
following the receipt and/or publication of this letter, your government fails
or refuses to immediately and unconditionally release the judges as requested,
SERAP would promptly consider appropriate legal options nationally and
internationally to ensure the full and effective implementation of our
requests.”
SERAP’s
letter dated 9 October, 2016 and signed by its Executive Director, Mr.
Adetokunbo Mumuni, said: “We are seriously concerned about the wave of arrests,
intimidation and harassment of judges across the country by the DSS. While we
fully support the government’s efforts to eradicate judicial corruption, we
cannot accept anti-corruption strategies and methods which patently offend the
rule of law and undermine the authority, integrity, sanctity and independence
of the judiciary.”
Meanwhile, a
lawyer and former National Secretary of the Labour Party, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, has
also condemned the arrests of some judges.
Ajulo in a
statement yesterday said the SSS should have followed the judicial procedures
for dealing with erring judges.
“I have
canvassed several times the need to overhaul our judiciary; I recall my twin
letters to the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the Attorney-General of the
Federation, Abubakar Malami, on same. However, I believe that in cleansing the
judiciary of corrupt judges, proper procedures must be followed,” he said.
He added:
“Yes, judges have no immunity from prosecution and discipline but I have been
privileged to take part in the disciplinary procedures of some judges at the
National Judicial Council to know the importance of the unique procedures.
“It is
pertinent to state this: no arm of government has reviewed itself more than the
judiciary and this ought to be encouraged. I believe there are procedures to be
followed for any disciplinary measure against serving judges.”
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