About eight more senior judges in Nigeria are being investigated for corruption and may be arrested anytime from now.
The eight are part of 15 judges that are being investigated by the State Security Service for alleged corrupt practices.
Already, seven judges were arrested between Friday night and Saturday morning in raids that have been condemned by lawyers and Nigerian rights groups.
The seven judges arrested and currently in detention at the SSS office are Justice Inyang Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court; Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja; Kabir Auta of the Kano High Court; Muazu Pindiga of the Gombe High Court, Mohammed Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal in Ilorin, and the Chief Judge of Enugu State, I. A. Umezulike.
Messrs Umezulike, Auta, and Tsamiya had earlier been recommended for sack by the National Judicial Council for alleged corrupt activities.
The seven arrested judges were still at the SSS office on Sunday evening.
A source at the headquarters of the security service also confirmed that the judges were allowed to see their families and have made relevant statements to the security agency.
Although the identity of the eight others being investigated is not yet clear, at least one of them is a member of the Supreme Court, a source said.
Apart from the judges, at least three members of the registry staff of relevant courts have also been invited for questioning by the SSS and have made “relevant statements,” the source said.
On Saturday, the security service gave reasons why it arrested the judges.
In a statement, the SSS said it also recovered various sums of money from those arrested including over N93 million in cash as well as over $530,000 in cash.
The mode of arrest of the seven judges has led to intense criticism from Nigerians including by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), and foremost rights group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately order the release of the judges.
“The judges may be released even this evening or tomorrow,” once they finish with their statements which we are allowing them write at their own pace,” our source said.
An emergency meeting called by the NJC on the arrests is expected to hold on Monday in what may pit the Judiciary against the executive arm of government. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
The NJC itself is highly corrupt, if they do otherwise I will not be surprised
ReplyDeleteDo they have remaining in their cupboard?
I pity Olisa Agbakoba. If he allowed his name to be smear then I will now know where he really belong in the fight against corrupt individual or organisation
What kind of talk is this...so you want NJC to support this Gestapo style of arrest,is there no more room for the rule of law...what is even wrong with you...so you want us to support tyranny,after we fought hard for democracy, you must be a joker...let buhari be the court,judge,prosecutor,and everything...that's his business...
DeleteSo DSS is the complainant, the judge, the police, the court and the prosecutor.
ReplyDeleteChange Dole!
Sai Baba!
Shame on these old cargoes that are embarrassing their children and grand children.
ReplyDeleteBuhari is embarking on a journey...May we all live to witness the end of it...Well,as events are unfolding...
ReplyDeleteThe system making the arrests is more corrupt than the arrested! Infidels!
ReplyDeleteU don't follow dis News that's why u're saying dis.. Have u read how DSS trace a Jugde to Ghana to Collect bribe for himself and Others with a Video and Audio proofs??
DeleteOga, even if the system of arrest is corrupt, pls support it to help me and you from Saraki and the Likes
Dear all, I think it is very important we allow DSS to do its work. My question is, these judges are they sacred? What is the buzz about their arrest? Some people are saying that this should not have been the best way to arrest them. Now another question is, how would the DSS have handled this? Is it by inviting them to their office so that they would go to their homes and do away with those evidences? Please let's leave these people to do their work. We have all been shouting foul play foul play by the judges, and now help is coming and the same people shouting foul play are also saying that it is wrong to arrest these judges.
ReplyDeleteDear all, I think it is very important we allow DSS to do its work. My question is, these judges are they sacred? What is the buzz about their arrest? Some people are saying that this should not have been the best way to arrest them. Now another question is, how would the DSS have handled this? Is it by inviting them to their office so that they would go to their homes and do away with those evidences? Please let's leave these people to do their work. We have all been shouting foul play foul play by the judges, and now help is coming and the same people shouting foul play are also saying that it is wrong to arrest these judges.
ReplyDelete