Wrong war on ‘corrupt’ judges

Last weekend’s arrests of seven senior judges in a ‘sting operation’ by the Department of State Services (DSS) over corruption allegations, has understandably elicited anxiety among Nigerians as regards the propriety, morality, legality and whether the action falls within the ambit of democratic ethos and principles. Legal luminaries have also gone further to interrogate the nation’s jurisprudence in relation to the matter.
Although, the seven judges, namely, Inyang Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court; Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja; Kabir Auta of the Kano High Court; Mu’azu Pindiga of the Gombe High Court, Mohammed Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin; and the Chief Judge of Enugu State Justice I. A. Umezulike,
have since been released on bail, many a Nigerian including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, have condemned the action.
The agency said the arrest of the seven judges, who were part of the 15 senior judges under investigation by the security agency over corrupt practices, took a dramatic turn because the National Judicial Council (NJC) refused to allow the DSS question the affected judges.
It said $2 million cash was found in the home of a judge among other obscene amounts of money in Pounds, Euros and other currencies in the homes of three judges under probe. The cash recovered included: N93,558,000.00, $530,087, £25,970, and €5,680.
According to the DSS, these judges had been practising cash-and-carry justice system and leaving flamboyant life styles unbecoming of their estate. They were also said to own palatial properties in choice locations. It said investigation against the judges started seven months ago, precisely in April 2016.

Remarkably, the CJN has joined many other senior lawyers, lawmakers and rights groups to deplore the incident, describing it as “very saddening, deeply regrettable and unfortunate. He said an emergency meeting of the NJC had been summoned to comprehensively look into the matter.
Condemning the raid, some members of the National Assembly including the PDP Caucus of the House warned that it was a “threat to democracy.” Chairman, House Committee on Federal Judiciary, Mr. Aminu Shagari, accused the DSS of “failing to follow due process of the law”. Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Mr. Razak Atunwa, also said the DSS overstepped its bounds.
Shagari, a member of the ruling APC from Sokoto State, said that the manner the judges were arrested humiliated the judiciary. “There are rules for handling issues such as this. These are honourable justices and of the Supreme Court especially”.
Chairman, Senate Committee, Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Dino Melaye, said although judges had no immunity and could be tried, the use of DSS by government was “absolutely wrong and unacceptable.”
However, President Muhammadu Buhari said the raids were an assault on corruption and not on the judiciary. He described the raids as ‘surgical,’ saying 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”.
The Presidency assures that the president reserves his highest respect for the institution of the judiciary as the third arm of government. To this end, the president will not do anything to undermine its independence.

Blueprint is appalled by the manner in which the arrest of the seven judges was carried out by the DSS. It is an established fact that the sanctity of the judiciary cannot be compromised let alone be undermined and judges, no doubt, represent this sacred institution. The judiciary is also one of the three arms of government and is pivotal to the doctrine of separation of power, which emphasises checks and balance among organs of government in order to check abuse and excesses.
It is, therefore, inexplicable that members of this sacred institution, that hold the ace and give relevance to democratic governance, should be harangued like recidivists, no matter how tenable or justifiable the reasons could be.
While we are in full support of the Buhari government’s war against corruption, it is our view that the rule of law demands that the arrested judges should have been accorded self recognition and some modicum of respect and decency, the gravity of the alleged offence(s) notwithstanding. After all, our adversary system of justice requires that an accused person is innocent until proved guilty by a court.