Presidency backs DSS clampdown on judges …Reps, PDP condemn raids …you're to blame – Falana tells judges, lawyers
The Presidency on Sunday backed the weekend's raids on the residences of some judges and their arrest by the Department of State Service (DSS), saying due process was followed.
It, however, said the clampdown was not against the judiciary but against corruption.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in a statement made available to journalists.
Shehu said the Presidency had been told by the DSS that all due processes of the law, including the possession of search and arrest warrants, were obtained before the searches were carried out.
Describing the raids as 'surgical operation', he said to suggest that the government acted outside the law in a dictatorial manner, was therefore to breach the interest of the state.
The statement read, '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.
'To suggest that the government is acting outside the law, in a dictatorial manner, is to breach the interest of the state.'
The national leadership of the PDP said the arrest of the judges was unwarranted.
A statement by the spokesperson for the PDP, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, in Abuja on Sunday, said, 'This invasion is the latest in a series of actions taken by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration which revealed its disregard for the rule of law and its abject disdain for the principle of separation of powers.'
Adeyeye alleged that the country was sliding into what he called 'inexorable fascism', adding that it began with the alleged invasion of the Akwa Ibom State Government House by the DSS and the continued detention of several people despite courts ordering their release.
He said, 'This slide into fascism has included sustained attacks on the leadership of the National Assembly as President Buhari has sought to break its independence and make it a rubberstamp to suit his will.
'It is worthy to note that never in the history of our country has any President attacked the judiciary in such a manner.
'Even the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, whose regime is remembered by many as the second worst regime in Nigerian history, did not carry out such Gestapo-style attacks on the members of the judiciary.'
But the APC said it was concerned about the desperation of the opposition PDP to drag the President into the raids by the DSS.
The party, in a statement by its National Secretary, Mai Buni, in Abuja on Sunday, said the Buhari-led APC administration operated strictly in line with the rule of law.
The statement partly read, '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 against President Muhammadu Buhari as the architect of the DSS raids curious and suspicious.
'The APC suspects that the PDP and the Ekiti and Rivers states' governors, Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike respectively, have something to hide. This is a red flag that security agencies must not ignore.'
Meanwhile, some members of the House of Representatives on Sunday berated the DSS for the arrests of some judges and the raids on their residences on Friday and Saturday last week.
The PDP Caucus of the House in particular, 'condemned' the action of the DSS, warning that it was a 'threat to democracy.'
Similarly, the Chairman, House Committee on Federal Judiciary, Mr. Aminu Shagari, accused the DSS of 'failing to follow due process of the law' by invading the homes of the judges and arresting them.
The Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Mr. Razak Atunwa, also said the DSS overstepped its bounds.
House Minority Leader and Leader of the PDP's caucus, Mr. Leo Ogor, stated that after analysing the Act establishing the DSS, members could not find a provision to justify Friday's action of the agency.
Ogor added, 'We condemn in its entirety, the said Gestapo invasion of the residences and arrests of the judges at those odd hours. It is not only unlawful but a threat to due process, usurpation of the responsibilities of the Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission or the National Judicial Council.
'We have taken pains to further analyse the National Security Agencies Act, from where the State Security Service, under the Provision of Section 3, derives its powers.
'We make bold to state that we could not find anything like the fight against corruption or financial crimes in the SSS mandate.
'Let it be known to Nigerians and the world at large that the core functions of SSS, border on treasonable crime and nothing more.'
Shagari, a member of the ruling APC from Sokoto State, told The PUNCHon Sunday that the manner the judges were arrested humiliated the judiciary.
Shagari explained, 'There are rules for handling issues such as this. These are honourable justices and of the Supreme Court especially.
'The way their houses were invaded was not proper. There are procedures of the law and the DSS flouted them.'
Also, it was learnt that the issue would be one of the major subjects of debate on the floor of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly when plenary resumes on Tuesday.
Two senators, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Tuesday, condemned the DSS for the reported 'Gestapo style' deployed in the operations by its operatives.
The Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate, Senator Abiodun Olujimi, described the raids by the DSS as being in bad taste and a return to the anarchy prevalent during military rule.
She said, 'It does not make any sense and it is not fair. We can't bring our exalted leaders down just for the sake of it. ''Granted, they (DSS) could want to investigate the judges, but there are more civilised ways to go about it.'
The Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Dino Melaye, on Sunday, condemned the arrest and invasion of the residences of the detained judges.
He said although judges had no immunity and could be tried, the use of DSS by government was 'absolutely wrong and unacceptable.'
The position of Melaye of the APC, representing Kogi West, was contained in a statement he issued in Abuja.
He added, 'There is no doubt that many judges are corrupt. It is also important to state the need to sanitise the judiciary of corruption that make judges to give commercial rulings which create terrible precedent in our legal system. Judges have no immunity and can be tried and should be tried but the use of DSS is absolutely wrong.
'The DSS operatives, even when they overstretch themselves and conduct investigations into the activities of judges, they ought to hand over their findings to the appropriate institutions of government - the Police or NJC - for prosecution and punishment.''
Meanwhile, Senior advocate of Nigeria and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana Sunday night called for the release of the detained judges on bail and their immediate prosecution by the office of the attorney-general of the federation and justice minister.
At the same time, he offered some insight into how the Nigerian bench got into this mess, where some judges were arrested for corruption allegations on Saturday by the Department of State Services.
In his statement titled, Release Detained Judges on Bail, Falana mentioned how both the Nigerian Bar Association and the National Judicial Council have been paying lips service to the crisis of corruption in the judiciary.
He mentioned the case of a female High Court judge in whose account one of the anti-graft agencies found N2billion.
'About two years ago, an anti graft agency found N2 billion in the account of a high court judge. As soon as the judge was invited for questioning she reported and made a statement and was granted bail.
'But as she could not defend the lodgement in her bank account she obtained an interlocutory injunction from one of the judges in the custody of the SSS', he said.
Read his Full statement here:
The State Security Service (SSS) now the Department of State Services, raided the official quarters of judges at Abuja, Gombe, Kano and Port Harcourt last Friday night. During the raid, the homes of the judges were searched while some of them were arrested and taken away. They have since been detained by the SSS. In a press statement issued at the end of the raid, the SSS alleged that the suspects have engaged in judicial misconduct and corrupt practices. Details of the humongous sums of money recovered during the raid have been released to the press. One of the judges was said to have escaped arrest with the assistance of a state governor.
As the detained judges are presumed innocent until the contrary is proved by the State, they should be admitted to bail in self recognizance. At the same time, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation should ensure that the suspects are arraigned in court without any further delay. However, 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 N197 million from a litigant the authorities had paid lip service to the menace of judicial corruption in the country.
In particular, the Nigerian Bar Association which has information on all corrupt judges and lawyers in the country have 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. About two years ago, an anti graft agency found N2 billion in the account of a high court judge. As soon as the judge was invited for questioning she reported and made a statement and was granted bail. But as she could not defend the lodgement in her bank account she obtained an interlocutory injunction from one of the judges in the custody of the SSS. It is common knowledge that two Senior Advocates of Nigeria are standing trial in the Lagos high court for allegedly bribing a judge. Even though it takes two to tangle the judge has not been charged to court for allegedly receiving bribe.
Having failed to take advantage of the relevant statutory disciplinary bodies to purge the bar and the bench of corrupt elements the members of the legal profession have themselves to blame for the harassment of judges by security forces. 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. To avoid any further embarrassment in the circumstances, the bar and the bench should immediately strengthen their disciplinary bodies with a view to removing the few corrupt judges and lawyers whose criminal activities have continued to erode public confidence in the judiciary.
Finally, it is painful to note that, before now, the demand of the human rights community to the effect that the fundamental rights of lowly placed criminal suspects be respected by the Police and other security agencies has been treated with disdain. But having regard to the fact that judges and other influential citizens have since become victims of institutionalized abuse of official harassment, it is high time that all stakeholders demanded that every criminal suspect be treated with dignity in line with the provision of the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015. - Punch.