A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and minister of State for Education in Goodluck Jonathan government, Olorungun Kenneth Gbagi, has termed those who are criticizing the invasion of the residences of judges and arrest of some of them by operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) as the real enemies of Nigeria.

Olorungun, who said that the arrest of some judges was commendable, stressed that those criticizing the arrest of the judges are “the real enemies of the country.”

The former minister who spoke to news men today, Monday in Abuja said that he was particularly disturbed by the statement of the PDP condemning the action of the DSS, reminding his party that the issues which led to the arrest of the judges were not a party affair.

The DSS, he said, has made the country proud and should be commended by all lovers of the country even as he insisted that “with all respect, I do not believe that the DSS could have done anything better than they did.”

Criminal elements, he said, must not be allowed to take over the country under any guise.

“Some judges have people whose job as lawyers is to get money to bribe judges. We must deal with the judiciary. Once we can deal with the judiciary 40 per cent of our problem is solved.

“I want to thank the Director General of the DSS. He has come to act in line with the responsibility the constitution bestowed on him. I congratulate him. The law gives him the power to break into any house for the purposes of effecting arrest. It does not matter whether it is Saturday or Sunday.

“Most Nigerians lack the courage and commitment to say how the nation should be run. Criminals have taken over the country and bought over everybody. Everything must be done to chase and pursue the criminals.

“A judge is the richest man in his village; his children are attending the best of schools outside the shores of this country; he has the biggest estate in town. Yet he does not sell nor do any business. What do you call that?”

Olorungun said that some people are talking as if the arrest of alleged corrupt judges had not happened anywhere in the world, adding even in the United States of America, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested nine judges in 2013 for miscarriage of justice.

He said that in India, many judges were also arrested for the same offence while some other judges were arrested in Ghana for corruption charges and that the arrested judges were invited by the DSS before the operation “but the judges have lawyers who wanted to go to court to obtain obnoxious injunctions to stop the DSS from carrying out its constitutional obligation.

“We were told that the judges wanted to delay till Monday to go and get injunctions from the court but the DSS acted faster and swooped on them.”

The former minister insisted that the DSS acted in line with the laws of the land, warning: “we must not use technicalities to delay the course of justice.”

Asked how he will feel if the same treatment was meted to him when he was minister, he said that “those who live in glass house do not throw stone.

“I have served this country to the best of my ability, a thief is a thief. Those who have skeleton are those who are afraid. We must enthrone probity and accountability in this country. The DSS DG should be encouraged to ensure that he pursued the arrests to the logical conclusion. The DSS should do more work; deploy more professionals to tidy up the system.” [myad]

Mrs. Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari has warned those who have been selling forms on the interest-free loan to women to immediately stop it as the forms are given free.

A statement by her Special Assistant on media, Adebisi Olumide Ajayi, quoted her as expressing surprise that the forms are being sold to the interested women across the country by unidentified officers in the federal ministry of women affairs using her name.

Mrs. Aisha Buhari discovered that the forms are being sold between N1,500 and N5,000  to the unsuspecting women.

She said that such act defeats the purpose of the programme which is mainly to assist women, especially those at the grass roots.

She asked those involved in the act to desist from sabotaging the programme and allow the Nigerian women to feel the change mantra. [myad]

The Nigeria Police Force has released the names of nine suspects, including two serving soldiers who kidnapped Mrs. Margaret Emiefele, wife of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and her three aides.

The police also displayed some items and cash recovered from the suspects. They include N14, 725,000 cash, two Honda cars, one Audi car and one AK 47 magazine and two cartridges.

The soldiers among the nine suspects, who were paraded today, Monday, are Lance Corporals Musa Maidabra and Edwin George, as well as a dismissed soldier, Ernest Anthony Uduefe.

The others are: Mohammed Abubakar, who is the gang leader, Mohammed Musa, Mohammed Sule, Ibrahim Abdullahi, Aliyu Musa and Mohammed Yusuf.

Briefing news men in Abuja on behalf of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP, Donald Awunah, said that the ransom is sometimes used as a bait or bargaining chip to save the lives of victims, which is primary to security operatives.

“The Nigeria Police Force will continue to limit the capacity of kidnappers and other criminals to disrupt the quality of life of Nigerians by the deployment of adequate manpower and resources in crime reduction, detection and effective prosecution of offenders in courts of competent jurisdiction,” Awuna said.
“It is also absolutely important to mention that the Police do not and will not encourage payment of ransom,” he said, advising relatives of victims of kidnapping to exercise “considerable caution” in such circumstances.
“It is inherently counterproductive. At all times of kidnap scenario, it is pertinent the Police are involved and trusted.” [myad]

The Presidency has insisted that the Saturday raids on the residences of some judges and arrest of four of them were assaults on corruption and not on the judiciary.

A statement by the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said that the President reserves his highest respect for the institution of the judiciary as the third arm of government.

Garba Shehu described the raids as ‘surgical’ and that due process was followed in the arrests.

“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 this end, the President will not do anything to undermine its independence. President 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. But reports by a section of the media are giving us cause for concern.” [myad]

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has advised the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to ensure that the judges who have been arrested by the security agents for alleged corruption are immediately arraigned in court without delay. He added that because the detained judges “are presumed innocent until the contrary is proved by the State, they should be admitted to bail in self recognizance.”

The Senior Advocate, who reacted to the furor over the arrest of the judges by the Department of State Security (DSS) both in Abuja and Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital, accused the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of shielding corrupt judges despite having information about their activities.

He described the failure of NBA to deal with corrupt officials in the judiciary as an embarrassment to the “incorruptible members of the bar,” adding that it is responsible for the current state of the country’s judiciary.

“In particular, the Nigerian Bar Association which has information on all corrupt judges and lawyers in the country has continued to shield them to the embarrassment of incorruptible members of the bar and the bench.

“The few lawyers who have plucked up the courage to expose corrupt judges and lawyers have been stigmatised and treated like lepers by their colleagues.

“It is on record that when both the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission sent invitation letters to judges suspected of corruption they had rushed to the Federal High Court to obtain interlocutory injunctions to prevent their arrest, investigation and prosecution.”

He said that members of the legal profession should have themselves to blame for the harassment of judges by security forces as they had failed to take advantage of the relevant statutory disciplinary bodies to purge the bar and the bench of corrupt elements.

“It is on account of negligence on the part of the legal profession that the SSS which screens candidates before they are recommended by the National Judicial Council for appointment as judges has now engaged in the arrest of judges for alleged corruption and abuse of office.

“It is a matter of grave concern that the legal profession has allowed the denigration of the hallowed temple of justice because of the misconduct of a few corrupt judges.

“For several years, judges who committed grave criminal offences were not prosecuted but merely retired by the authorities on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.

“Although the National Judicial Council recently recommended the dismissal and prosecution of a judge for extorting the sum of N197m from a litigant the authorities had paid lip service to the menace of judicial corruption in the country.”

It would be recalled that the operatives of the DSS had raided the official quarters of judges at Abuja, Gombe, Kano and Port Harcourt and ended up arresting at least four judicial officers. The arrested judicial officers comprised two Justices of the Supreme Court – Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro – as well as Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court and another judge of the Gombe State High Court, Justice Mu’azu Pindiga.

In a statement issued at the end of the raid, the DSS alleged that the suspects had engaged in judicial misconduct and corrupt practices, adding that a huge amount of money was recovered from three of the judges.

In response to the raid, the NBA had declared a state of emergency and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the judges.

Source: PUNCH. [myad]

A group, known as Rivers Professionals for Good Governance (RPGG), has alleged that Governor Nyeson Wike of the state prevented security agents from arresting a judge to cover up the sum of $250,000 he personally gave to the judge to deliver a judgment in the favour of his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The group, which claimed to be committed to over sighting the activities of the Rivers State Government and the 23 LG Councils, said that the judge allegedly collected the said amount from the governor for the purpose of giving favourable judgments in cases such as the Tai rerun election matters and others which are either before the judge or will end up before the judge and other federal judges.

A statement by jointly signed by the President of the group, Engr. Edmondson Jamabo and  General Secretary, Johnson Amaewhule said that the said judge was able to quickly make contact with governor Wike as soon as security operatives surrounded his residence, adding: “this explains why the governor personally mobilized his associates to obstruct the arrest of the judge and the possible retrieval of the 250 thousand USD which was still in the judge’s home mainly to provide opportunity for the exhibit to be taken away.

“The RPGG, as a watchdog for good governance, regrets that the security agents succumbed to the blackmail by Gov. Nyesom Wike and vacated the premises. We condemn in strongest terms the obstructionist stance exhibited by the governor of Rivers State. The event of today has convinced us that Gov. Wike systematically corrupts the judiciary to do his bidding.

“We recall that the governor has been accused severally of obstructing security agencies from doing their job. He is accused and we now believe that the governor shields key criminals such as Solomon Ndigbara and many others. Now the governor has moved to physically shield judges he has compromised.

“In Ogoni, he confronted and blackmailed soldiers to discontinue the cleansing of the area of criminals and hoodlums. Same was the case in Orashi region and elsewhere.

“The RPGG also agrees that Gov. Nyesom Wike, by his conduct and utterances, inflame and exacerbate the present precarious security situation in Rivers State. Indeed, it is very curious why Gov. Wike would obstruct the Federal Government from arresting its erring employees.

“It can only mean that there is an unwritten collaboration between the governor and such employees of the Federal Government. Of course, it must be an unholy collaboration for that matter.

“We call on the DSS and other security agencies to realize that their loyalty is to nation first. Therefore, we call on them to disregard and effectively waive aside, by any means whatsoever, any obstructions to carrying out their constitutional duties irrespective of any possible collateral outcome.

“Rivers Professionals for Good Governance (RPGG) enjoins security agencies to operate within the law without acquiescing to the kind of manipulations to good governance currently being perpetuated by the Nyesom Wike-led Rivers State Government. [myad]