Barely 48 hours after the Department of State Services, DSS, had taken seven suspected corrupt judges into its custody, details of what led to their arrests and how they were picked up from their homes by operatives of the agency began to emerge last night.
Competent sources close to the operations told Vanguard that the agency could no longer watch and allow corrupt judges use their positions to engage in sabotage, subversion and espionage latching on huge proceeds of corruption.
A source said that unknown to most Nigerians, some of the judges had been collecting huge bribes to subvert the will of the people, using the proceeds to acquire choice property and build fat bank accounts without putting in enough efforts to do the job they were paid to do.
The source said that based on series of petitions from concerned Nigerians to checkmate the excesses of the corrupt judges, the DSS moved in and began a covert investigation, which finally led to the establishment of prima facie evidence against them.
“As we speak now, we have incontrovertible evidence of brazen corruption against the seven judges in our custody and we are ready to charge them to court, even tomorrow.
‘’By our own analysis, the rot in the political scene – election rigging, inter and intra-party crises and election petition trial from tribunal to Supreme Court – gave rise to the deep corruption in the judiciary.
“In the economic sphere, Nigeria lost cases to foreign investors due to the collusion of judges with foreigners, leading to the loss of hundreds of billions of Naira by the country, among them, the Malabo Oil deal where the country lost over $2 billion.
“We have the mandate not only to pre-empt and prevent but also to take necessary actions to bring the culprits of economic and financial crimes to book.
‘’That is why we are challenging those who think that our action is unconstitutional to take us to court since we cannot allow Nigeria’s security interest to be jeopardised.
“Let it be known that anybody whose action can create hardship for the rest of Nigerians must be stopped by us before the crime is committed and there is no other agency that is as capable of doing that as the DSS,’’ the source said.
It was learned that the DSS had an easy access to the bank accounts of the detained judges and actually established that they had been taking bribes from many sources in the discharge of their duties but used the names and pictures of their wives, children and siblings to open such banks account, which were not known to most of those whose names appeared in the bank ledgers.
“When we brought in most of the children, wives and relatives of the suspects based on the papers we got from the banks, they did not even have an idea that their names had been used by the judges to open such accounts.
“But you see under the Bank Verification Number, you must put in your passports, name, signature and others. So, for some of the judges, who used fake names and their wives names to open the accounts into which they paid in the proceeds of crime, they foolishly appended their signatures or used their pictures, something that gave them out.
“From what we have found out, some of the suspects acted foolishly in committing the offence because they cannot prove that even if their children were to earn N1 million monthly since they were born till date, none of them can accumulate the amount of money we have traced to their accounts and the type of property they have.
“Look, it may interest you to know that one of the two Supreme Court judges in our custody has a property worth N1.5 billion in one of the South-South states. If we may ask, where did he get the money to set up such project?”
“As far as we are concerned, there is nothing unusual in arresting corrupt judges and taking them to court because it would be an offence against the nation to continue to turn a blind eye to mounting corruption in the judiciary.’’
The official also pointed out that another judge, who is being detained and questioned, disguised as a shopper in one of the supermarkets and ended up collecting bribes in Dollars from a ‘client’ only to be caught on CCTV camera.
The official expressed regret that the National Judicial Council, NJC, which had the responsibility to track and punish corrupt judges, had tended to condone evil being perpetrated by the corrupt elements, citing the cases of three indicted judges as example.
“The NJC, having been satisfied that the three judges demanded and collected heavy bribes, merely recommended the retirement of the one who took a bribe of N200 million and asked him to be paying back in bits to the complainant. So, we ask, what happens to the proceeds of crimes? No answer was given until we stepped in.
“Similarly, the two other judges were retired with full benefits, smiled away. Since then, the NJC has not been cooperating with us and we cannot allow the rot to continue in the interest of Nigeria.
Turning to the appearance of Governor Nyesom Wike at the scene of the arrest of a suspected corrupt judge of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, the official noted with concern the action of the governor, wondering what he went to do at that time of the night, if he was not part of the judge’s deal.
“It was the governor, who blocked the DSS operatives from seizing the $2 million crime proceeds, which the judge had made from the PDP crisis stoked by a faction backed by the governor.
“But for the our highly professional operatives and service direction, we would have beaten up Wike that night so that he would have explanations to make on why he went to a crime scene at odd hours and aided a suspect to move $2 million crime proceeds to an unknown location.
“But we already have an idea of where the money was moved to and we are going to retrieve it and bring the judge to trial. As a matter of fact, we are going to treat the Port Harcourt FHC judge case as a ‘special case’, given his collusion with the governor to obstruct our work.
“The behaviour of the judge has worsened his case. In the last three months, the judge has been going across the Nigerian borders with other countries collecting bribes for himself and others.’’
The source also indicated that the judges might be allowed to go home as soon as they answered the questions put to them by the operatives, adding that they were being given royal treatment, in view of their status and the need to give them a conducive atmosphere to speak up.
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 Gombe High Court, Mohammed Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal in Ilorin, and the Chief Judge of Enugu State, I. A. Umezulike.
It was learned that no fewer than eight other corrupt judges are being investigated and would soon be picked up to have their day in court.
bAttempts by Vanguard to get the names of the eight judges were unsuccessful last night, but they are said to be spread across the country.
Attempts to speak with the Director General of the DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura, proved abortive, as the agency is yet to appoint a spokesman since the last one was retired last year.
Vanguard.
*Any Judge that is found with questionable cash should/MUST be probed.The problem starts from them and must be curbed.There are so many innocent people in jail because the rich and guilty ones can pay their way through.NO JUDGE IS ABOVE THE LAW THAT governs their profession.
DSS carry go!
If you like come and have diarhea under my comment,I stand by what i have said whether in Buhari administration or another.
I'm not interested in this case...
ReplyDeleteNa dem sabi...
They should all be sent to jail,even if it's just for a week.
DeleteIf you watched channels this morning,you will just weep for this country.
It's should have started from the judges from time immemorial,but unfortunately they are/were always bribed.
You should be, because, if things were done rightly from the start, you might h benefited from those monies. Queen of the blog ma
DeleteYou should be, because, if things were done rightly from the start, you might h benefited from those monies. Queen of the blog ma
DeleteHonestly I understand what the DSS was trying to achieve, only it was done a bit wrongly. Albeit the law doesn't exempt Judges from being interrogated. The constitution allows it, but there's a caveat to it which must be duly observed.
DeleteThe overall decadence in the judicial system is appalling. A lot of cases are stalled unnecessarily because judges have compromised. Lawyers get frustrated and make no headway with their respective cases. Of course they make more money from frequent court appearances, detrimental to their clients. The courts are jammed with backlogs of cases that should have been concluded.
So I will agree with the recent sanitization sweeping thru this arm of government. I don't think it's a sabotage as many want to make it appear. Remember that the judicial arm of govt inadvertently affects the other arms too, especially the executive. I beg I just tire
But illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible in the court of law
ReplyDeleteYeah, right!
DeleteMrsBee
I think 'relevance' is the key word. Irrespective of how the evidence is gotten, as long as it's relevant to the case in question, it will be admissible.
DeleteDo you have sense, it is the DSS, they have every right to get evidence! DSS don't obtain evidence illegally, Nnugo?
Delete#JOeFIRSt
Fire cracker, you are right. Relevance is the key. If it is relevant, it will be admissible. It does not matter how you got the evidence. If it s such an evidence that will be admissible, it will. You can go sue in another action entirely for e.g if your house is broken into or property destroyed to get the evidence.
DeleteIn this case,it is very admissible.
DeleteHow will they strike out the fact of BVN? The evidence is admissible and mind you, the family members already denied knowledge of the funds opened in their names. That alone is indisputable.
I understand that a warrant for search was obtained before the raid.
DeleteMe I support ooo Dss carry go..
ReplyDeleteGod bless the fearless, he may b clueless in there eyes because he is trying so many measures to find d best for u stupid fools, but God knows his heart and his good intentions for this unworthy pipo if this dog nation! I said and will say again, d effect of d change will show after he left office, Nig don't want to endure a lil pain to enjoy d fat benefit later. Very impatient animals including me cos sometimes I doubt him . may God bless everyman with a good heart. Go BUBU
ReplyDeleteYou are a fool if u think buhari is acting all this drama becos he "loves" Nigeria. Big fool. This judges picked up are judges who refused to dance to d tune of APC, hence their punishment.
DeleteI wonder why most bvs cant counter comments without abusive and vile words. This nina of a woman is so uncouth. And you say you are what again? Lawyer?? You are a sorry excuse of a lawyer. I spit on you!
DeleteAnd fear no let you come out of anonymous mood? Hahahahaha, ife onye cho kofu.
DeleteNina,I need to hault you there..
DeleteI completely disagree with you cos this has absolutely nothing to do with party affluence.
They should be punished for their deeds.
Anon, I stand by your side, we Nigerians are impatient, we need swift results in a space of time, if Buhari's govt should trimple upon this corrupt practice that has eaten deep into our blood stream, that will be a head way for our children children unborn.
@nina...its time we left all those our sentiment,ethnicism,tribalism etc and try and be objective so that we can move forward in this country. The most likely important question here is: did they or did they not take tribes? Be it from APC or PDP,it dsnt matter. If they refused to take from APC and took from PDP,its still bribery and wrong. Prosecute them all ,I say and good riddance to bad rubbish! And yes,I am a lawyer and proud to be one.
DeleteBVN again??? Thought the Buhari govt said they found huge cash in the home of some Judges.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it strange that none of these judged is an Hausa man.
What has tribe got to do with this??? Mschheeww !!! Corruption is corruption, they should be brought to book, jailed and retirement benefits seized . Useless set of people. You pls think before you speak
DeleteBVN was used to get the accounts they opened with wives and childrens names,
DeleteI read all the post.
Well, if they are found guilty, they should be jailed.
So not a single corrupt hausa Judge? Well, Shebi 2019 is around the corner, they'll all be punished.
My thoughts too
DeleteSDK henchman it seems you have diarrhea of the eyes, didn't you see kano and gombe mentioned there? All this people that won't read but must comment by fire by force.mtchewww
Delete@Henchman, why not assimilate what you've read up there. Among the 7 judges been arrested, two/ three are from the North. Let's be factual here.
DeleteBuhari govt has nothing to do here. This so called judges are found wanting and they should be dealt with.
Memo to DSS:
Justice Okon Abang of Abuja High Court should also so be arrested. He was moved from Lagos to Abuja..
Infact ALL the judges should be arrested!
If you come to Asokoro and see the type of houses these guys are living /owned ehnn...
DSS do the needful and pick ALL the judges.
Kabir Auta Kano High Court, Muazu Pindiga Home High Court, Mohammed Tsamiya. Are these Hausa enough for you? People stole and you are playing the ethnic card. How dense can some of you be?
DeleteKabir Auta Kano High Court, Muazu Pindiga Home High Court, Mohammed Tsamiya. Are these Hausa enough for you? People stole and you are playing the ethnic card. How dense can some of you be?
DeleteDon't let sentiments cloud your common sense, the judge that was almost arrested in ph is a hausa Muslim.. everything shouldn't be about tribe
DeleteThose it matter what part of the country they are from... corruption isn't tribalism it or regional, if u do the crime u must pay for it irrespective of which part of the country your hail from.
DeleteJames James. Henchman.
DeleteIgnorant fool
DeleteKabi Autta and Muazu pindiga are igbo names right?
DeleteGuess you dint read it up cos if u did, u'd av seen d names listed above and also see the judges from kano and gombe state..
DeleteLet's just all pray for a better Nigeria, a country that'd be filled with love for each other, not a country based on tribalism or religious beliefs..
In stella's voice *dont take it south*
Oga henchman i tire for you...dundee like u cannot finish reading..u jst saw the photo on the post and jumped like whale to comment rubbish
DeleteThe bench needs to be sanitised
DeleteSIMPLE!
The judicial system in Nigeria is in shambles.
It's a Big mess.
I have completely repose confidence in our judicial system.
So now, are they striking out their first claim that they saw dollars in their homes and now restricting it to their acct balances? Cos I didn't read anything like that there.
DeleteDss better have solid proof of all these their allegations cos if these judges go free after this, then sorry is their name.
Anyways, that tyrant won't let them go free, whether they are found innocent or not.
*Judges
ReplyDeleteThat's right stella all these useless judges need to be probed and locked in jail. Just look at our country turning into a banana nation, anything goes with all these corruption judges/politicians. God I totally dislike corrupted people yuck!!!
ReplyDeleteSince this is the era of probing judges, I think the judge that presided over the recently concluded Kogi state elections should also be arrested and subsequently charged to court. The rumored allegations against that one is story for another day. Hmmmm.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the judgment should have been that a fresh election should have been conducted. That panel was bribed heavily.
DeleteHow can judges have such amount. Annoying thing is that the case would still go to court and no one would want to accuse his superior as they are the Ogas na so they'll be freed.
I love American judicial system, even tho there's still corruption, it's not as bad as this one and they are usually sooooooooo coded and careful about it
I can't believe i read all that, so interesting. OMG! This Judges are thieves! That is why Abia state is like this bcos of the bribe they collected and gave wrong judgement. God pls. vindicate Abia state. The wicked cannot go unpunish. NJC is also corrupt, infact the judiciary is deeply corrupt. I can't shout abeg!
ReplyDeleteEveryone is corrupt!!!
DeleteExecutive o
Legislative o
Judicial o
All the governors!
All the ministers!!!
All politicians!!! All of them!!!!
Governor Wike is an enabler. Date the reason he was ready to die for his corrupt friend judge. No hiding place for the wicked
ReplyDelete
DeleteWhat was he doing there at that unholy hour of the night? If he is not part of the culprit.
There is allegations that the PH judge aided his
Governor Wike is an enabler. Date the reason he was ready to die for his corrupt friend judge. No hiding place for the wicked
ReplyDeleteNice one Stella. Good comment.
ReplyDeleteyou guys don't get it.
ReplyDeletethey should let the National judicial Council try them first before sending info to d police for them to be arrested.
no one ever said they were above the law..but the arrest should be done through d right manner
You don't get it,NJC had already been informed a long time ago
DeleteNJC has already compromised! These people got no scruples, no credibility!
DeleteShame on the NJC! Shame on the NBA president for even attempting to take sides! If the NBA was not in itself corrupt JK Gadzama would be President.
Same thing happened in Delta state, when they have finished all of the state's money to bribe these judges, the state becomes broke, no work is done. Bad roads, state workers are not even paid.
ReplyDeleteI am the only one seeing that DG DSSbis Buhari's kinsman?
ReplyDeleteSee Justice ademola's daughter, oyinade's wedding . Aston martin kini kan kinikan. As a judge what is ur salary? Ur wufe is a civil servant. The groom is not from a rich home at all but comfortable . Who sponsored the wedding?
ReplyDeletehttp://weddaily.com/a-grand-entry-star-performances-more-oyinade-oloruntobas-grand-lagos-wedding/
Aston martin keh?where did he get d money from?abeg dss should go for him too with immediate effect.justice awon oleh
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCases will be adjoined for years with no tangible evidence.
DeleteThere re lots of bad eggs in the bench.
They should be dealt with publicly and striped of their ropes.
Stella I will emphasise on this, come to Asokoro and see how these judges live in affluence
Which way Nigeria??? Are these judges not suppose to be role models and mentors to upcoming lawyers??? DSS/FG, Buhari, carry gooooooo.
ReplyDeleteThe reason u'll hardly find a non-corrupt young lawyer,they're all thieves
DeleteHow about they arrest the judge that cleared buhari to run for president without ssce. Some of you are So ignorant. Buratai Is not corrupt, he saved astutely.
ReplyDeleteWhat fact do you have to support your claim about the ssce scam?
DeleteYou need to know first how the military system works.
@anthony, Rhetoric isn't a fruit of wisdom.
DeletePrincess please do share how the military system works cos it was the same military system that aided OBJ produce his certificate 😒😏
DeleteLet the arrest continue. Nobody's above the law.
ReplyDeleteSdk henchman you better shut up if you dont know what is going on. The Judge Wike left his house in the middle of the night to prevent his arrest is a Hausa man. I wish the DSS had beaten him up that night for interfering with their duties to send out a big message that no one is above the law.
ReplyDeleteIf you had read this post instead of just commenting through your anus you will see Hausa judges names in the list of the seven Judges that were arrested and in detention.
ReplyDeleteBut because you are so blinded by tribalism you cannot see when something is being done for your benefit and for the benefit of your children and their future.
You dey mind them..
DeleteSee us ready to condemn our people...that is why the north is better than we the south south..like someone said isn't it strange none of the judges are from the north?? They are busy putting our people behind bars and we are here singing their praises
ReplyDeleteMtchew
My dear, pls go up 👆 and read properly and see the number of Hausa judges been indicted.
DeleteThe rule of law in Nigeria has so many loop holes and that is why the judges, politicians and law makers leave above the law and act as if they are untouchable.
ReplyDeleteIf going against laid down rules is what the DSS needs to cleanse the judiciary then i support them...Nigeria must not be allowed to go into ruins because of this corrupt judges.
Well said & JOB WELL DONE DSS.
ReplyDeleteIke nsi
DeleteJaymoore I don't think u are doing well "in the abroad" if u are, u won't support lawlessness.Just like a typical Trump supporter, sad and angry over nothing.
DeleteLol Jaymoore.
DeleteWike left his house in the middle of the night to go and defend and prevent a Hausa judge from being arrested and all these stupid foolish ibo bigots are killing are chocking on their comments here saying no Hausa judge has been arrested.
ReplyDeleteIf you think no Hausa judge has been arrested which is not true because they are among the 7 that where arrested maybe it's because Wike is preventing the arrest of Hausa judges. Tribalism and hate will become the death of you ibos and that is why the rich people among you will continue to suppress you in poverty.
Anon 10:15,the whole River State brouhaha was staged. Do U think the SS Operatives will not succeed in arresting the Judge if he is an Igbo or from the Niger Delta?
DeleteIt saddens my heart the way we Nigerians attach ethnicity and religion on every issues pertaining to national development.
DeleteLol. Everyone should wait till the matters are in court, you will see how all these evidence will scatter. Trial by media.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm....
ReplyDeleteEverything worketh for good to them that believe ....Lol......Pls and if its about transparency. ....the villa should not be left out
It is quite unfortunate how some Nigerians attach ethnicity to serious national issues. I wonder when some of the people on this platform will begin to condemn evil for what it is. Corruption is corruption no matter who is involved. Let the affected judges face the full weight of the law.
ReplyDeleteExactly
DeleteThey should be jail
ReplyDeletePut them in kirikiri then start adjoining their cases till Jesus comes.
ReplyDeleteI laugh when i see ignorant comments saying the fight against corruption is against one party or the other.
ReplyDeleteAs a common citizen of this country, i am not interested in the allegiance of who ever is probed or tried for corruption. The only thing that concerns me is whether or not you have stolen my (our) money.
If another party comes, let them do theirs. Afterall PDP had their own 16yrs.. its not my business.
Whoever is remembered, as long as you are a thief, you have to answer for it. SIMPLE.....
Who will probe DSS? As if some of them have never taken bribe before.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of bribe did they take? Is it to hasten up the case or to prosecute someone illegally?
No time to read all abeg.
My take is - DSS should be fair in their dealings.
Because of corrupt judges the thieves of our land are roaming free instead of being in jail. Now let them face the music. They the politicians will fall in line.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Stella. This time i am 100% in support of this. They are our first problem. They will sentence a young man to a 100 yrs for stealing 1 million but free Dasuki. someone needs to do the needful and not listen to fani and the rest who are equally guilty but will rather see this country drown than say the truth. Democracy that allows them to enrich themselves and leave the hard workers to suffer.God is finally listening.
ReplyDeletePls leave Dullards to keep missing the point. They don't learn at all.
ReplyDeleteDasuki has been freed by ecowas court (whether they like it or not) just cos they never want to do anything by the book.
And where is Dasuki from? is he an igbo man or is he from River State. Tell us where he is from...
ReplyDeleteI laugh in French. Karma.!!!! Just same way out presided bribed 28 judges to cover up his certificate. Hope 28 of them are in that list?
ReplyDeleteEka Joy you are actually the dullard here! The write up specifically states that the NJC was by passed because of the lenient modus by which penalty is awarded stating categorical instances thus their informed modus operandi.
ReplyDeleteYour thinking is perpetually to the left because Buhari is President.
Well, you have a few more years to keep barking whether you like it or yes!!! If however you claim the war on corruption is one sided, well someone has been courageous enough to resume it anyway so whenever a southerner assumes the office mandate him to resume his from the opposite side so that there can be an equalizing. For now, this is what it is & guess what hon, the war on corruption got our backs 10000%😘