Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [africanworldforum] Re: EFCC Arrests Female High Court Registrar Notorious For Matching Senior Lawyers With Corrupt Judges - Profiles of some Accused Judges {Re: STAR DECLARATION: Judges are corrupted by senior lawyers of the NBA – Sagay { Re: [Naijaintellects] On the Matter of the Stunning Arrest of Many Very Senior Judges in Nigeria {Re: Arrest of Roguish Judges is constitutional

Adepuju:

You have unloaded, have you not? You feel a little better now,  after my brief attention to you?

Lo toju ara e, were alaso...go attend to your medical condition.

And there you have it.


Bolaji Aluko
Shaking his head
And having a belly laugh

On Wednesday, October 12, 2016, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
> Aluku,
>
> I hoped agst hope you would respond so I could lay out why I have so characterized you.
>
> You are a traitor and an embodiment of the failure of a large segment of the Nigerian intellectual class and of the SW intelligentsia in particular.
>
> Why are you a traitor?
>
> You a traitor bcs you betrayed the person who gave you the most important opportunity of your professional  and public life- immediate past President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who called you from your academic position in the US and made you  VC of a university in Otueke, his home town, as part of a nation wide move to escalate higher educational development in Nigeria, establishing new universities across the nation, as well as building schools to accommodate the disenfranchised in the Muslim North, the base of the right wing Muslim politicians who remain Nigeria's greatest problem, an accomplishment in social engineering he not only got little appreciation for in that region but which I understand has now been described by some of those same characters for whom ignorance and underdevelopment of the populace is key to their power base, that the schools are too expensive to run, in an environment in which poor education and poverty provide enabling grounds for the culture of  religious and political violence that defines the region, with Boko Haram Islamic terrorism being the most recent spike of this culture.
>
> Why should you be seen as a traitor in a social system where freedom of political affiliation is a basic human right?
>
> You should be seen as a traitor bcs the support you give to the opponent of your benefactor is a support that consists in applauding or acceding to even the most ridiculous, bloodthirsty and destructive  strategies of his opponent, strategies that betray your own professional and political history and lead to questioning  of the motives of yourself and others like you, particularly the Tinubu led faction in the SW who need to rethink their direction after the ongoing dismantling of their Buhari centred political capital, unless perhaps some hope to be welcomed into a new alliance with the dismantler.
>
> You are one of those, who in the controversy of the legality of Buhari's contesting for the Presidency even though there was no evidence of his meeting  the abysmally low criterion for that highest position in the land, of a secondary school leaving certificate,  were pleased to tell us in this fora, in the midst of your uncritical support for this character, that there are those who are happy to vote Buhari even if he presents a NEPA bill [ electricity bill] or tissue paper as evidence of a certificate.
>
> In a world which prioritizes the ability to creatively manage huge amounts of knowledge in a global environment in which Africa is poorly positioned within a political and economic ecosystem created by the West which is at least 100-200 years ahead of Africa, a person who is supposed to embody the understanding of the significance of advanced knowledge for social, economic and technological growth, gives assent to electing a candidate who has little education and has shown no evidence of engagement with the issues that define a complex world, whose only achievement is nepotistic political and military positioning  at the apex of which was the treasonous act of seizing national power through a coup and who is not known for any personal initiative in  business or any other aspect of human endeavor  except to campaign again and again to rule Nigeria, using monies whose source is unknown, it becomes clearer why I state  "I understand better why buffons are able to rule successfully in Africa and other banana republic environments. Along with instilling fear through use of force, they have those who should know better supporting them".
>
> The people who enshrined that low level educational requirement for the Presidency in the Nigerian constitution are military leaders, all coming to power through coups, from the Muslim North, characters who, with their civilian cronies have dominated Nigerian politics,  particularly since they waged the genocidal 1966 counter coup. These people's attitudes to education represents the dregs of Islamic civilization, a civilization fundamental to laying the foundations for the modern world but which has suffered grave denudation by the dominance of right wing ideologies pursuing social control at any cost, although some Islamic environments, as in SW Nigeria and Senegal, are able to escape the worst of this grave problem.  This is the backward  expression of a once central contributor to the world embodied by characters whom some people insist should lead Nigeria.
>
> What did this character do on being sworn into office?
>
> He  appointed heads of security and other particularly sensitive agencies, and the electoral commission, from his ethnic/religious base, and kept the nation on hold for months while claiming to be searching for trustworthy misters, only to repeat the same appointment pattern  sprinkled with appointments of largely political loyalists from other regions, ignoring the known corruption records   of some of the most prominent, thereby creating a wall of ethically centred and crooked cronies around himself.
>
> He appointed another ethnic/religious loyalist as Minister of Education, and this person who has no experience of higher education management, whose best qualification is perhaps writing about education,   in a country awash with people who have the mid range academic qualifications he has and more,   career scholars in education with  varied  experience in  educational management, yet this character of second tier qualifications was chosen.
>
> What did this appointee do?
>
> He removed the VCs appointed by GEJ, among others, including you, bringing those appointments for new universities to an end after one term, replacing those removed  with appointees dominated by his ethnic/religious affiliations, with four I understand, coming from Kano State, perhaps the minister's state.
>
> You began by telling us nothing was amiss until the national outcry possibly led to your making a small complaint. You say, sir, that your 'cough' of discomfort has been addressed by this dubious raid of judges' homes by DSS agents who cant arrest a single  of the Fulani herdsmen terrorist kinsmen of the President and the DSS boss who have massacred hundreds of Nigerians and publicly defended their crimes with the support of right wing Northern Muslim politicians, bcs you see the judiciary as the live wire of ethics in Nigeria. Do you think these questionable arrests and corruption claims will address the continued bastardization of the independence of the  universities represented by arbitrary terminations and appointments of VCs using an ethnic/religious affiliation as a central criterion? It becomes clearer why Nigerian universities are being eviscerated-political manipulation and acquiescence by academics and the public, leading to a situation of no collective commitment to the system, like there is little collective commitment to Nigeria.
>
> I am agst the cultivation of  Fulani herdsmen as a terrorist group. I am against the domination of Nigeria by right wing Northern Muslim politicians who stop at nothing, including providing open ideological support for Boko Haram Islamic terrorism, to rule Nigeria. I am agst Buhari bcs he belongs to this group of characters. I am yet to be dissapointed in the dismal expectations I have of this character who has no place leading Nigeria, a place he got to through  the deceit of Nigerians by APC propaganda and the use of Boko Haram as a tool for discrediting the previous govt,a tool that eventually went out of control.
>
> toyin
>
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>
>
> On 12 October 2016 at 10:28, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju:
> I normally do not respond to you AT ALL, because I have long considered that there is something wrong with you somewhere up there.  As I read you day in and day out, I believe that there are not a few loose nuts between your ears,  but I will relax my ban on responding to you this time, and release you on your merry way....
> Moving on.....
> Even that my "cough of discomfort" against the Buhari administration that you cite below has been "treated" or assuaged by this latest crack-down on judges, which I have long sought as one of the major panaceas to the epidemic of corruption in our country,  which I have long written about since the early 2000s as the archives will show.  You can arrest all corrupt persons all you want, but if the judges and lawyers collude to pervert the carriage of justice against them, and the banks hide their money for them, then you are trying to fill a basket wracked with holes...... and the seven demons of corruption will return after you are gone.
> Finally, I see you as an unrelenting,  implacable and hate-filled Muslim-phobe, Fulani-phobe, Northern-Nigeria-phobe and Buhari-phobe, of almost insane Trumpian proportions, without even nary a "cough of comfort" in support of ANY of Buhari's policies.  But of course, you have a right to your "non-cough of comfort", while I have a right to my "cough of discomfort."
> And I must tell you:  after exactly five years of hard work to the day as Pioneer VC at Federal University Otuoke, I am RELIEVED to be resting from it, no pun intended! :-)
> And there you have it.....no further response to you beyond this full stop.
>
>
> Bolaji Aluko
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 9:22 AM, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Once Buhari takes a controversial political action, Bolaji Aluko must give his support, often unqualified.
>
> Fulani herdsmen's terrorism which Buhari has been aiding has received Aluko's support through a struggle to question the factuality accounts  of terrorism by this group, activities they openly justify, with the help of right wing Northern Muslim politicians, and of silence on the attitude of Buhari.
>
> The only time I know Aluko to have raised a criticism of an action related to Buhari's political activity was when he and a number of other VCs were relived of their jobs by Buhari's appointee to the Ministry of Education, a journalist with no experience in educational management , not even headship of a department in a university, as far as I know, who flooded the VCship list with a largely Northern Muslim selection, four from Kano state alone, if I recall correctly. After struggling to pretend all was well, Aluko eventually made a little cough of discomfort.
>
> Gradually, I understand better why buffons are able to rule successfully in Africa and other banana republic environments.
>
> Along with instilling fear through use of force, they have those who should know better supporting them.
>
> toyin
>
> On 12 October 2016 at 02:31, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> SAHARA REPORTER
>
> EFCC Arrests Female High Court Registrar Notorious For Matching Senior Lawyers With Corrupt Judges
>
> The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last Thursday arrested Helen Ogunleye, a registrar at the Federal High Court in Lagos with a record of pairing up senior lawyers with corrupt judges to pervert justice. Our sources said she was detained overnight before being granted bail on Friday. SaharaReporters further learned that forensic investigations of some of the high-profile lawyers undergoing prosecution by the agency show that Mrs. Ogunleye has also been a conduit for transferring cash from the lawyers to some of the corrupt judges.
>
> The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last Thursday arrested Helen Ogunleye, a registrar at the Federal High Court in Lagos with a record of pairing up senior lawyers with corrupt judges to pervert justice.
>
> Our sources said she was detained overnight before being granted bail on Friday.
>
> SaharaReporters further learned that forensic investigations of some of the high-profile lawyers undergoing prosecution by the agency show that Mrs. Ogunleye has also been a conduit for transferring cash from the lawyers to some of the corrupt judges.
>
> Some of our sources gave the example of an analysis of telephone calls from Joe Nwobike, a senior lawyer recently arrested by the EFCC, which showed that Mrs. Ogunleye had previously helped pair him with a federal high court judge who is now serving in the Jos Division.
>
> Several text messages between her and some judges also show that she had perfected a way to funnel bribes to them.
>
> Mrs. Ogunleye is said to be cooperating with EFCC investigators.
>
> ----
>
> Cable Pulse
>
> PROFILE: Grandson of ex-CJN, ex-lecturer, PhD holder… the 7 judges arrested by DSS
>
> The Department of State Services (DSS) raid on some judges has been the issue in the media since Saturday when the news was made public.
>
> Nigerians, including legal practitioners, have been divided over the operation, but the presidency has tried to justify the action of the secret police, saying it was aimed at ridding the judiciary of corruption.
>
> While some have been released others are currently in detention. Below is a lowdown on judges affected in the first of such operation, as the DSS has vowed to carry out more.
>
> ADENIYI ADEMOLA
>
> Adeniyi is a judge of the federal high court, Abuja. He is the grandson of Adetokunbo Ademola, whom the colonial masters appointed chief justice of Nigeria in 1958. He remained in that position till 1972, making him the longest serving chief justice in the history of Nigeria.
>
> TheCable understands that Ademola has been very controversial even among lawyers who often question how he arrives at his judgments.
>
> Adeniyi was the judge in whose court the DSS arraigned Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser. He also presided over the forgery case which the federal government brought against Senate President Bukola Saraki, Ike Ekweremadu, his deputy, and that which sacked Ahmadu Fintri as acting governor of Adamawa state. Adeniyi comes from Ogun state
>
> SYLVESTER NGWUTA
>
> Ngwuta is a supreme court judge who hails from Ebonyi state. Having served at a high court in Abia state, and the appeal court, he was elevated to the supreme court in 2011. He has been a member of several election petition tribunal, governorship and legislative house election petition tribunal since 1999.
>
> He was a member of the Nasarawa state tribunal, which sat in Lafia, the state capital in February 1999, the national assembly election petition tribunal, Plateau state, in Jos in April 1999, among others.
>
> He presided over the ruling that affirmed Olusegun Mimiko as governor of Ondo state in May 2013 and also presided over the ruling of the Supreme Court that affirmed Kayode Fayemi as governor elect of Ekiti state, and recently he affirmed the election of Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state.
>
> INYANG OKORO
>
> Inyang Okoro is an indigene of Akwa Ibom state. He was a judge of the high court of Akwa Ibom. Okoro got elevated to the position of justice of the court of appeal in 2006. Eight years later, the senate confirmed his appointment as a justice of the supreme court justice, and he was sworn in by Aloma Mukhtar, the first female chief justice of Nigeria in November.
>
> In January, he delivered judgment on a friction involving factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra state. Okoro's panel held that the Ejike Oguebego-led PDP executive had the sole right to hold the primary election in Anambra. Back then, the judgment was misinterpreted to mean that Andy Ubah and Stella Oduah, two senators from the state had lost their seats since they emerged through primary elections that were conducted by another faction. The issue was later resolved with the explanation that the apex court was silent on the aspect involving seats of the lawmakers.
>
> NNAMDI DIMGBA
>
> Dimgba was in the top two of his class at the University of Nigeria. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in September 1999. He holds a BCL degree from the University of Oxford (Worcester College), a Certificate in US Law and Legal Methods from Suffolk University in Boston, USA and a PhD in Competition Law from the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, where he was also a law lecturer in corporate and competition law until 31 August, 2006. President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him a federal high court judge in November.
>
> A day to his arrest, Dimgba chided the DSS for flouting an order to remand Umar Mohammed, a retired air commodore, to prison. Mohammed was ordered to be remanded in Kuje prison on Thursday and on Friday, the DSS failed to produce him at a hearing for his bail application.
>
> KABI AUTA
>
> Auta is an indigene of Borno state. A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he was called to bar in 1977. Auta was the attorney-general of Borno between 1988 and 1989. After a year in office, he was appointed a chief judge. He was the national president, Magistrate Association from 1986-1988. He was also the chairman, civil disturbances tribunal, Port-Harcourt in 1995.
>
> In 1999, he chaired the national assembly election tribunal for Anambra State 2010. He was later appointed a judge at the Kano state high court. Two weeks ago, the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended Auta for prosecution over an allegation of collecting N197m from one Kabiru Yakassi who wrote a petition to the NJC.
>
> NJC also asked Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, to dismiss him, and also recommended that Auta should be handed over to the assistant inspector-general of police, zone 1, Kano, for prosecution.
>
> MUAZU PINDIGA
>
> Pindiga is a judge of the Gombe state high court. He was the chairman of the Rivers state election petition tribunal, but was replaced following a petition that he had been bribed by a key actor in the election.
>
> MOHAMMED TSAMIYA
>
> Tsamiya was born on December 31, 1949. He was a judge of the court of appeal in Ilorin. Before his posting to Ilorin, he served as a justice of the high court, Sokoto. Citing a petition written against him based on election appeal panel in the Owerri division of the court during the 2015 general election, the NJC asked President Buhari to compulsorily retire him. One Nnamdi Iro had accused the judge of demanding the sum of N200m on three different occasions to influence the court ruling.
>
> INNOCENT UMEZULIKE
>
> Umezulike, the immediate past chief judge of Enugu state, was born in Rivers state on September 21, 1953. He obtained a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Lagos in 1976, and was appointed a legal adviser in the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) that same year. He lectured at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, where he rose to the position of an associate professor. The federal government nominated him to serve in the supreme court of the Gambia.
>
> The judicial council recommended him for sack over allegations of corruption. He was accused of delivering judgment in a case 126 days after final addresses were adopted by parties. During his book launch, he was said to have allegedly received a donation of N10m from a businessman, Arthur Eze, while two cases in which Eze was said to have had vested interest, were in the judge's court.
>
> ________________________________________________________
>
> On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 11:21 PM, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> October 11, 2016
> http://www.channelstv.com/2016/10/11/lawyers-responsible-rot-judiciary-itsey-sagay/
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoFM1wRoVQ
>
> <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhCM8PWbmJtG1MEeMH_7KC0_X5AxiUIIxteR406oDsOpUT4sgKenNC4gTrlJxQ4paJ5OhyyFS_1MMzpOAJUQe3YVH9pPpkh2s21hk4P1GnZv6_HCwDqCCErgKkJPQQMhcmGqtMEnCdWS3zs9keEX3_kbg3qkcOZq66h_1FWoNmzQcxPZwoGGkVgnsMxCch-KrGt2liqvUtG_b3Rvh0bRp_tEIQngvzzlr723vY5-GByZPaCdOYEK66n1ya-jOGyGoHM3OQueYnvyHzr8WuQ2Lp9JNBNd_jzbXgy8XD0ss7lRMpOUNsJryGoGwvWcNTPuX1KfY-vVXn9qba_VA8NBV6EExgJcpfy_X1gwJaYfgaDsTdtczqE9YDFkzXnS3nhFnnzZzd3Y-lk46sIy3IGRfZ6dNkdme9MSMVk14N_tLEmfhgrMDqCJZ2YyV8mI34Vy5BI77esFwhFgzplAhaOdP59ts3XUYN_aFM6nHEDbJayCoQz1Soz7d7TuDch8unguQ=s0-d-e1-ft&ik=e06e491944&view=fimg&th=157b895f23f608e0&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_157b5cefbfff6185&attbid=ANGjdJ-VcUWGDu3hSxXtHukwbvbGkrbaPSzp5l3bvafNm-peMvqZ5iLp-xfeHiFIOXiRRR3I2ZHPR0G-tiiXtULBtE7e8KxXbQo8Af_LK77h1Epvr2lKQEhqlcP2F3w&sz=s0-l75&ats=1476270869679&rm=157b895f23f608e0&zw>
>
> Lawyers, especially the senior ones are responsible for the rot in the judicial system. That is the view of a professor of law, Itsey Sagay.
>
> In an exclusive interview with Channels Television, Professor Sagay said that the senior lawyers influenced the judges.
>
> On whether the NJC can deal with the corruption in the bench, the law professor said that the body lacks the capacity.
>
> ---------
>
> My People:
>
> No more to be said...
>
> Bolaji Aluko
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Crackdown on judges: Judges are corrupted by senior lawyers – Sagay
> Source: Vanguard
> ABUJA— Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, yesterday, described the arrest and detention of two Justices of the Supreme Court and two High Court Judges by the DSS as very "saddening, regrettable and distressing" and urged Nigerians to remain calm and prayerful. He said the National Judicial Council, NJC, will hold an emergency meeting today to comprehensively look into the matter. Meanwhile, as angst over last weekend's crackdown on judges by the Department of State Service, DSS, continues, high court judges shunned sittings in Abuja, yesterday.
>  
> Meanwhile, as angst over last weekend's crackdown on judges by the Department of State Service, DSS, continues, high court judges shunned sittings in Abuja, yesterday.
>  
> Most courts Vanguard visited were open but not conducting any proceedings. Most of the judicial workers, especially at the Federal High Court, where one of the detained judges, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, was serving, were seen in clusters discussing the issue in hushed tones. Some prominent cases hitherto slated for hearing could not go on, yesterday, including continuation of the corruption trial of former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh and money laundering charge against former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim. There were indications that the arrested judges may be arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court at Life Camp District, Abuja.
>  
> This came as the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, insisted that the crackdown was unconstitutional and illegal as the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Body of Benchers, contrary to tradition, shunned a valedictory court session held in honour of Justice Suleiman Galadima, who bowed out of the apex court bench, yesterday, having clocked the mandatory 70 years retirement age. The CJN, who doubles as chairman of the NJC, broke his silence on the issue at the valedictory court session. While extolling the virtues of Justice Galadima, who he said rendered 47 years of committed and selfless service to the nation, the CJN, said: "My Lords, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, not to detract from this occasion, it is indeed very saddening and deeply regrettable, the distressing and unfortunate incident, which occurred on Friday October 7, and Saturday October 8, 2016. 
> "However, I must ask all Nigerians to remain calm and prayerful, as an emergency meeting of the NJC which will take place tomorrow (today), will comprehensively look into the matter. Furthermore, I must express my sincere appreciation to the executive of the NBA ably led by the President, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, and indeed all members of the legal profession, for their prompt action and continued support." Meantime, contrary to the tradition of such valedictory court proceedings, Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, not only shunned the event, he also failed to send a representative. Similarly, the Body of Benchers, which is an umbrella body of SANs in the country, was not represented on the occasion. Atmosphere at the session, held at the main courtroom of the Supreme Court, was tense and gloomy, with only 13 justices of the apex court in attendance. DSS operations were illegal, unconstitutional, NBA insists Meanwhile, in its speech at the valedictory session, the NBA insisted that it was wrong for President Muhammadu Buhari to justify the DSS action against the judges. President of the association, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, said: "Perhaps it may not be out of place if I say a few words on the events that took place two days ago. 
> The events are now quite known. Between the night of Friday October 7, operatives of the DSS conducted series of raids into the homes of judges of various courts across the country, including homes of two senior Justices of the Supreme Court. "The justices were taken into custody after several hours of searches. On October 8, the DSS held a press conference to justify the searches. It described the operation, in quote: 'series of sting operations on allegations of corruption and other acts of professional misconduct against few and suspected judges'. It also stated that its action was in line with its core mandate, that they have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious life style of judges. "The NBA has already issued a statement condemning this action in the strongest possible terms. At the press conference, which I addressed in Lagos, on Saturday, I condemned the action of the DSS and demanded that President Buhari calls the security agencies responsible for this action to order. We deem these actions illegal and unconstitutional as it is against the independence of the judiciary. "It is aimed at intimidating the judiciary and indeed the legal profession. This military style operations are totally unacceptable in a democratic society. "It is unacceptable to private citizens and more so, justices of the superior courts". 
> NBA said it was concerned that President Buhari, through a statement by his special assistant on media, attempted to justify the arrest and detention of the judges by the DSS, on the premise that it was targeted at corruption and not the judiciary as an institution. "The NBA rejects this explanation and justification that this so called surgical operation is targeted at corruption and not the judiciary. We found it absurd that the President will accept assurances from the DSS. We maintain our position that these operations were illegal and unconstitutional. I want to reiterate that the position of the NBA is not aimed at protecting any Judge or to shield any Judge from investigation". The NBA leadership called for the DSS to be restructured, saying it is not the mandate of the Service to investigate corruption allegations or to conduct sting operations in the home of judges at night, warning that the DSS should not be encouraged to act outside the law as "the dangers of this kind of action are replete in our history." 
> Judges are corrupted by senior lawyers – Sagay 
> Speaking on the issue, yesterday, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee againmst Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay, SAN, said: "It is a major development in our legal history, it is unusual. Where do you think such money (N360m) came from? And if such huge sum of money can illegitimately be in the house of judges, then what is this system we are operating? Can one get justice in such a situation? This is what is troubling my mind. 
> I have always said that judges deserve dignity and to be treated with utmost respect; that is what I will call reverence and it has always been so. "In a situation where there is such degeneration in a society, that has now spread to the judiciary that is normally treated with sanctity and reverence, what is to be done? When you have a god that you are worshipping and the god brings himself down to your level, then what it is saying is that you should stop worshipping him and you should treat him like any other person. That is the phenomenon we are dealing with. 
> "Respect for judges is based on their conduct, record and attitude. When that conduct fails, then they have exposed themselves to the situation, which they are treated. Judges, according to the law, enjoy immunity against searches and arrests. In regard to how judges are treated, as people who are above god, people of the greatest moral authority, when that is gone and they are like you and me in conduct, scrambling for money and taking money from parties before their courts, in order to abuse their position, then the law applies to them as it applies to every other person. NJC should not be condemned over the said money found in judges homes. NJC was not established to deal with the epidermic that is seen in the judiciary, in terms of judicial corruption. We are facing an epidermic. It means if you don't have money you can never get justice.
>  So I think there is a need to really introduce drastic measures to purify the system.'' We must not undermine the credibility of the judiciary – Nwabueze Legal icon, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN also deplored the manner the arrests were made and cautioned that we must not do things that could bring the judiciary to disrepute. In a statement, yesterday, he said: "Whilst judges are not granted immunity from criminal process, the vital and sacrosanct role of the judiciary in governance entitles them to great respect over and above that accorded to the ordinary citizens. To disgrace a judge, as by a degrading treatment, is not just the disgraceful treatment of an individual; it brings the entire judiciary, as the third organ of government, the Third Estate of the Realm, into disrepute and undermines its credibility in the eyes of the public. It diminishes our country, and all of us. 
> The matter therefore counsels and demands cautious handling. "We are in a constitutional democracy, not a military dictatorship, and the law must be respected and obeyed in the way the affairs of the country are handled, including the handling of the fight against corruption which we all wholeheartedly support.'' Anti-graft war must follow due process – Sodipo Also, speaking, former President, Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria, IPLAN, Prof Bankole Sodipo, said: "I am against corruption and corrupt judges but I am against the manner the judges have been treated. The rule of law is a safety valve. No investment takes place in a country where the rule of law is not respected. Leaders who do not respect the rule of law often become despots. Buhari was once a despot. We must oppose the agencies that are depicting Buhari as a leader that has not changed. I voted for Buhari, who vowed he is not that same person who ruled us a little over 30 years ago with Decree 4 and fear. I implore Buhari to dispel this fear as Idi Amin started like that. Once the judiciary is ridiculed, the last hope of the common man is gone. Let us follow due process.''
>  It has done serious damage to Nigeria's image – Labour Organised Labour, also condemned the crackdown, saying that it contradicted known democratic norms and undermined Nigeria's democratic practices. Speaking through the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC faction led by Mr. Joe Ajaero, Labour contended that while it gave total support to the anti-corruption fight of the present government in the three arms of government, the  process that was employed in the raid on the homes of the judges, had done serious damage to the reputation of the nation and made a mockery of the brand of democracy being practiced. Labour in a statement by Joe Ajaero warned that Nigeria could slide back into a pariah state in the comity of nations should things continue in this way. 
> The statement reads in part: "That the nation's judiciary which ought to be the last hope of the common man is seriously corrupt just like every other arm of the nation's governance is well known and historical. It is unfortunate that these allegations against judges whose chambers are considered hallowed and whose appearances sometimes bespoke of certain reverential powers are even made at all talk less of the presence of the alleged evidence in their possessions. We feel that this is truly a betrayal of trust and confidence and indeed contemptuous of the loyalty of Nigerian people upon that hallowed institution. "However, no matter the quantum of corruption that is either perceived or observed in the Judiciary, we cannot pull down the laws and statutes we have set for ourselves to govern how issues of this magnitude are handled. Governance is built on certain pillars and anything that undermines these pillars undermines the government and can create instability that may cause the nation to implode. 
> These safeguards are guarantees to protect the people from impunity and high-handedness of those that wield instruments of Power.'' APC, CLO differ Meanwhile, the Conference of Publicity Secretaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, have divergent views on the issue. While the APC scribes in the six geo-political zones of the country commended the Federal Government for what they described as its demonstrable intent to clean up the judiciary and take it out of the commercial market, the CLO said the invasion of judges' homes by DSS operatives brought to the fore the reality that democracy, rule of  law and respect for the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were under serious threat. In a statement made available to reporters in Awka, the APC publicity scribes said the mission to clean the judiciary should not be questioned by anyone who meant well for Nigeria, especially those who had a first-hand experience of the perversion of justice in the country.
>  The statement read: "We urge Nigerians who do not as yet have sufficient information or are not knowledgeable enough on the technical issues involved in the combined operation of the security agencies leading to the arrest of some judicial officers across the nation to answer to various allegations, to remain calm and watch the unfolding situation. "Attempts to consign the issues in the latest development to legalities alone will fail flatly in the face of more serious considerations of how the nation degenerated to a point where those who would normally be looked up to as next to God in purity, now demand and collect bribes to declare otherwise unqualified persons to preside over the public life of innocent Nigerians, armed with immunity in some cases.'' However, the South East zone of CLO disagreed with APC scribes, arguing that the gestapo style of the DSS operation in arresting the Judges was a sad reminder that after  17 years of return to civilian administration, dictatorship and other accompanying derivatives of the military regime still abound. South East zonal chairman of CLO, Comrade Aloysius Attah, said while not holding brief for the affected judges, even when the DSS had already declared them guilty, there were legally accepted procedures for criminal arrest, investigation, prosecution and conviction. 
> Attah's statement read: "Nigeria as a nation has relevant agencies and bodies charged with the responsibility of addressing corruption, financial malfeasance and other related offences. The DSS under President Buhari, if left unchecked, may become another strike force. The DSS action is morally and legally reprehensible and there is nothing to cheer or justify their action over the huge sums of cash said to have been recovered from the Judges' homes, after all the DSS is not a money recovering agency.'' 
> It's a threat to Nigeria's democracy  –  A/Ibom PDP, Onuesoke In like manner, the Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  called on Nigerians to resist attempts by the APC-led Federal Government to scuttle Nigeria's hard-won democracy. The state Publicity Secretary of the  PDP, Mr. Ini Ememobong, yesterday in Uyo, described the arrest of the judges as 'burglary and kidnapping,''adding that if Nigerians and professional bodies do not rise up to defend democracy and judiciary, and left them undefended, democracy will be threatened to its roots. A chieftain of the PDP, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, described the arrests  as sacrilegious and desecration of the judiciary. Onuesoke who spoke to newsmen in Abuja, argued that while he is in full support of the government's efforts to eradicate judicial corruption, he would not accept anti-corruption strategies and methods that patently offend the rule of law and undermine the authority, integrity, sanctity and independence of the judiciary as stipulated in the principle of separation of powers.
>
>
> Source: PremiumTimes
> The raids carried out weekend by the State Security Service on residences of senior judges were routine investigations, and were legitimate, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, has said.
> Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr. Malami said the government had resolved to fight corruption, and would not be deterred by class or reputation of suspects.
> "Once crimes and criminality are concerned, nobody is an exception. I think the undertone should be exclusively the consideration of the existence of a prima facie case; existence of reasonable grounds for suspicion of commission of a crime," he said.
> "And if there are, no member of the legislature, judiciary and executive can definitely be exempted from investigation. I think where we are now is the point of investigation and that is what is taking place."
> Mr. Malami said the search and subsequent arrest of seven judges were steps in an ongoing investigation that even constitutionally guaranteed immunity does not prevent.
> "The bottom line is that we have a responsibility to fight corruption. Corruption is a crime and nobody, regardless of how highly placed, is exempted as far as issues that border on crimes and criminalities are concerned.
> "The limited exceptions, as we know constitutionally, are the exceptions of immunity. And to the best of my knowledge, those exceptions do not apply to investigation. For those that are conferred with the immunity, the right to investigate has not been taken away constitutionally.
> "So, I think the framework and the circumstances within which we are operating are clearly whether there exists the right to investigate or not, and whether the action borders on criminality," he said.
> The SSS raided the homes of seven judges in six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory between Friday night and Saturdaymorning.
> During the raid, the SSS said it recovered a huge stash of money in local and foreign currencies. Seven judges were arrested, and have since been released on bail.
> Those arrested include Justice Sylvester Nguta and John Okoro of the Supreme Court and Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court Abuja.
> Others are Justice Muazu Pindiga of Gombe State; Kabiru Auta of Kano State, Innocent Umezulike, of Enugu State and Justice Mohammed Tsamiya, an appeal court judge in Ilorin.
> Reports of their expected arraignment went round on Monday. But while journalists waited at a Magistrate Court in Life Camp, Abuja, where they were expected to be arraigned, officials confirmed that the judges had been released.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 4:41 AM
> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [Naijaintellects] On the Matter of the Stunning Arrest of Many Very Senior Judges in Nigeria {Re: Arrest of Roguish Judges is constitutional
> To: naijaintellects <naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>
> Cc: "africanworldforum@googlegroups.com" <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>, USAAfrica Dialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>, Nigeria world forum <NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>, "naijapolitics@yahoogroups com" <naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com>, nidoa nidoa <nigerianID@yahoogroups.com>, "Raayiriga@yahoogroups.com" <raayiriga@yahoogroups.com>, yahoogroups <TalkNigeria@yahoogroups.com>, ekiti ekitigroups <ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>, NiDAN <nidan-group@googlegroups.com>
>
>
>
>
> Akusobi:
>
> Absolutely....!
> The PMB administration is finding BELATEDLY that the anti-corruption fight can NEVER BE WON if the CORRUPT Judges and Lawyers that DOMINATE the Nigerian landscape are still in place....AND if the Banks can still hide and move their monies around for them.  That is why, as far back as 2004, I have listed as one of 17 ways of fighting corruption in our country, we should:
>
>
> QUOTE
>
> http://www.nigerialinks.com/Articles/mobolaji_aluko/2004/12/17-ways-of-stopping-financial.html
>
> For unelected public officials, we should:
>
> 1. speedily prosecute all persons not protected by Section 308 who aids and abets those immunized officials in financial and other types of corruption;
>
> 2. focus on ridding the Police Force and Judicial Bench of corruption; these two arms are the most public faces of exercising justice in the land.  We should observe zero-tolerance for bribery by the NPF on our highways, including use of sting operations;
>
> 3. observe zero-tolerance for bribery by judges, mandatorily disbarring any found to have taken bribes.
>
>
> For private sector officials, we should:
>
> 1. focus on ridding the banks and other financial houses of corrupt practices;
>
> 2. observe zero-tolerance for money-laundering: sanctions could for example DOUBLE the amounts laundered, including closing banks down for egregious violations;
>
> 3. observe zero-tolerance for foreign-exchange round-tripping; fines should double the amount round-tripped.
>
>

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