· NJC extends emergency meeting, to take decision today
· Senate asks Buhari to call his men to order, declines to summon DSS DG
· Undeterred, president elevates two judges to S’Court
· House to probe activities of DSS
The Attorney General of the Federation
(AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has justified
the arrest of seven judges by the Department of State Services (DSS) at
the weekend.
The minister spoke in Abuja yesterday at
the inauguration of the Country Expert Review Committee for the second
cycle of the review of the implementation of the United Nations
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
Malami’s reaction came against the
backdrop of mixed reactions that have trailed the arrest of the seven
judges and the threat by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to declare a
state of emergency.
The judges — Justices John Inyang Okoro
and Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta of the Supreme Court; Justice Muhammad Ladan
Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal; Justice Kabiru Auta of the Kano High
Court; Justice Mu’azu Pindiga of the Gombe High Court; Justice Ibrahim
Auta, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria; and Justice
Adeniyi Ademola — were arrested between Friday and Saturday by
operatives of the DSS on allegations of corruption.
All seven judges were released on bail on
Sunday night, owing to what the DSS said was the lack of co-operation
of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
THISDAY yesterday had exclusively
revealed the correspondence between the DSS and NJC over the last 10
months, showing the attempts by Nigeria’s secret police to investigate
the judges and the refusal by NJC to co-operate with the DSS.
It was the lack of co-operation that
prompted the DSS to obtain search warrants from a magistrate’s court in
Abuja on October 5, and subsequently effected their arrest two days
later.
According to Malami, what happened in
relation to the affected judges was a mere investigation of criminal
allegations, contending that no one was immune to investigation under
the Nigerian law.
He pointed out that once an allegation of
criminality was raised, it was the duty of the relevant investigating
agencies to carry out the investigation.
When asked by journalists to provide more
insight into the judges’ arrest and release on bail two days later, he
said nobody is exempted from being investigated, not even the president,
vice-president, governors and their deputies who are covered by the
immunity clause under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.
“The fundamental consideration is whether
there is an allegation of the commission of a crime, whether there is
the need for investigation, and whether the relevant provisions of the
law and indeed, all circumstances, as provided in the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) are put into consideration in our conduct as
regards the fight against corruption.
“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.
“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.
“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,” he said.
The minister expressed confidence in the ability of members of the review committee to execute their responsibilities.
He said: “The extant review focusing on
Chapter II and V of UNCAC, relating to preventive measures against
corruption in public and private sectors and assets recovery, is both
necessary and timely at this time in the annals of our country, when
endemic cum systemic corruption has created a great disconnect between
our nation’s wealth and the quality of life of ordinary citizens.”
Malami said that the objectives of UNCAC
were in harmony with the conviction of the current federal government to
curb corruption.
He said it was necessary for members of
the committee to understand the important task of nation building which
was being committed to their hands.
“Let me emphasise that the guiding
principles of the review is non-adversarial, non-punitive and not aimed
at ranking state parties.
“Nevertheless, members of the expert
committee should understand that those selected, appointed or nominated
by my office or your various agencies are chosen based on skills,
expertise and commitment.
“It is therefore important to note that
your performance in this assignment will be a step in the direction for
us as a country and people to achieve the goals that we have set for
ourselves – prevent corruption, recover, return and manage stolen
assets,” he explained.
Members of the committee are drawn from
22 federal agencies including the Independent Corrupt Practices and
Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Special Control Unit Against Money
Laundering (SCUML), and the Technical Unit on Governance and
Anti-corruption Reforms (TUGAR).
Malami, therefore, charged the committee to be transparent and efficient as much as possible in carrying out its mandate.
NJC to Take Decision Today
But as Malami justified the arrest and
investigation of the judges, the NJC held its emergency meeting
yesterday on the weekend’s raids and arrests.
However, the meeting was inconclusive and
would continue today after which the council may make its decision
public on the fate of the judges being investigated.
But as the public awaits the outcome of
the meeting, a source in the presidency told THISDAY that the Chief
Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the NJC, Justice Mahmud
Mohammed, has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the
situation, but did not protest the arrest of his colleagues.
However, this claim could not be confirmed as the office of the CJN declined to comment.
Another source at the NJC meeting
informed THISDAY that the meeting could not be concluded yesterday,
forcing the council to adjourn further discussions to today.
Apart from the arrest of the judges, the
council took the decision to present Justice Walter Onnoghen for
appointment as the next CJN.
“Tomorrow, we will make a definite statement on the issue,” the source said.
Justice Mohammed on Monday had appealed
for calm over the unprecedented arrest of two of his colleagues and
other judges of lower cadre.
He described the arrests as regrettable, adding that he was saddened by the event.
‘Call Your Men to Order’
Wading into the issue yesterday, the
Senate deplored last weekend’s invasion of the homes of the seven judges
by the men of the DSS and asked Buhari to call the rampaging security
operatives to order.
The upper legislative chamber, which
expressed grave irritation over the action of the DSS, also instructed
Buhari to henceforth direct the security agencies to ensure full
compliance with the rule of law in the discharge of their functions.
The Senate also mandated its Committee on
Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to commence the review of all
extant laws on the powers of security agencies with a view to ensuring
that they are consistent with the dictates of democracy.
The committee has four weeks to complete its assignment.
The Senate also condemned in strong terms
the action of the DSS, insisting that the security agency abused its
powers, flouted constitutional provisions and simultaneously usurped the
powers of the NJC.
However, the Senate rejected a prayer
that the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, should be summoned to
explain why his agency opted to launch a “ferocious attack” on judges
without paying cognisance to the provisions of the law.
Moving a motion on the action of the DSS,
Senator Joshua Lidani (Gombe South) said while the Senate was in full
support of the fight against corruption by the government of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), the war must be fought with strict
observance of the principles of the rule of law and democracy.
Lidani described the action of the DSS as
unconstitutional, noting that the fight against the rule of law would
be counter-productive if it is not fought within the laid down
principles and procedures.
“I am alarmed that the
extra-constitutional approach to sanitise the judiciary in line with the
war against corruption is bound to prove counter-productive because it
erodes the role of the judiciary and undermines the importance of the
judiciary, as well as demoralises the morale of many patriotic and
upright judges who have determined to support the crusade against
corruption,” he said.
Supporting the motion, Senator Dino
Melaye (Kogi West), who said it was incontrovertible that the Nigerian
judiciary, as currently constituted, was very corrupt, adding however
that the shameful corrupt acts of this arm of government,
notwithstanding, the DSS exceeded its professional competence and must
be called to order before it puts Nigeria’s hard earned democracy in
jeopardy.
“I rise this morning to state
unequivocally that it is true that there is corruption in the judiciary
and this truth was established last week by the expulsion of three
judges by the NJC.
“It is also a celestial truth that judges
have been dishing out what I call commercial rulings. It is also a
fundamental truth that judges need to face the full wrath of the law,
especially where the issues of corruption are concerned.
“This Senate, therefore, will continue to
celebrate the war against corruption either in the judiciary, the
legislature or the executive.
“I support the fight against corruption
irrespective of who is involved, either a Supreme court judge, judge of
the Court Appeal or of the High Court or even Magistrate’s Court.
“But while I support the fight against
corruption, it is a misnomer, it is absurd for the Department of State
Security Services to operate outside its mandate.
“The responsibility of the State Security
Services is clearly defined in the National Security Agencies Act 2010,
Cap 350, which states clearly that the State Security Services shall be
charged with the responsibility of the prevention and detection within
Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.
“The second responsibility, as enshrined
in the law setting up the DSS, states that it is responsible for the
protection and preservation of non-military classified matters
concerning again the internal security of Nigeria.
“The third and the last responsibility,
as enshrined by law, is such other responsibility affecting internal
security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the president, as
the case maybe, may deem necessary.
“Mr. President, my respected colleagues,
how does bribery and corruption become an issue of internal security?
How does bribing judges or official misconduct in their official
capacity become a threat to internal security?
“The point here is that the DSS, in her
fight against corruption, overstepped its boundaries and abused its
mandate,” he insisted.
Also speaking, Deputy Senate Leader, Ibn
Bala Na’Allah, recalled that the massive support that APC secured during
the electioneering period was spurred by the commitment of Nigerians
towards a corrupt-free nation and cautioned the government of President
Buhari against betraying the people’s trust.
According to him, the initiators of the
1999 Constitution were not out of their minds when they empowered the
NJC to discipline any erring judge, observing that last weekend’s move
was particularly in bad faith because the NJC had in recent times been
committed towards cleaning the Augean stables.
He said: “The framers of our
constitution, in their wisdom, decided that a body called the National
Judicial Council should be established as a constitutional body to deal
with the issue of appointments, promotions and discipline of judicial
officers.
“In the discharge of that sacred duty,
the NJC acted on petitions that were validly submitted to it,
recommended the dismissal of some judges; recommended the retirement of
some, and even went further to say that a particular judge went beyond
his bounds and therefor, must be referred to the police for proper
investigation and prosecution.”
Senate President Bukola Saraki, who
presided over the session, emphasised that the fight against corruption
must be fought within the ambit of the law.
“We must eradicate corruption in all
spheres of our society and this is a matter that we must continue. I
think the National Assembly has been playing its role to continue to
support government in its fight against corruption.
“However, we must ensure that this fight
against corruption is within the rule of law; any act of anti-corruption
that goes against the rule of law does not help the corruption fight.
“That is why this action, as has been
seen in this manner, is condemned by the Senate and all agencies of
government must ensure that they act within the confines of the law,” he
said.
But as the reactions over the action of
the DSS continued pouring in, Buhari yesterday forwarded the names of
two Appeal Court justices to the Senate for confirmation as justices of
the Supreme Court.
The judges are Sidi Dauda Bage (North-central) and Paul Adamu (North-east).
Buhari, in a letter dated October 6, 2016
and read on the floor of the Senate by Saraki, said their appointments
were in compliance with Section 231(2) of the Constitution.
House to Investigate DSS
The reaction in the House of
Representatives yesterday was not dissimilar to that of the Senate, with
the lower chamber stating that the DSS was acting outside the duties
assigned to it by the National Securities Act, and resolved to
constitute an ad hoc committee to investigate the activities of the
agency since the inception of the present administration.
The committee’s terms of reference would
include the investigation of all cases of invasion of property and
arrest of persons for reasons outside the general duties of the DSS
since May 29, 2015.
The resolution was as a result of the
adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon.
Kingsley Chinda (Rivers, PDP).
Chinda said the powers of the DSS as
enumerated in Sections (2), (3) and (6) of the NSA Act do not include
the investigation and prosecution of corruption, and abuse of office.
“Recall past incidents of similar
invasions and arrests by the DSS including the Akwa Ibom State
Government House, and the Ekiti and Zamfara States Houses of Assembly
for matters unrelated to its lawfully prescribed duties,” he said.
Chinda added that if the trend is left
unchecked, it was capable of truncating the nation’s democracy or could
result in the introduction of self-help by concerned citizens, which
could lead to anarchy.
The motion, however, caused some rumbling
among the lawmakers, prompting Speaker Yakubu Dogara to shelve the
debate on the matter.
Hon. Mojeed Alabi (Osun, APC) had cited
Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the constitution as guaranteeing the separation
of powers among the arms of government.
This matter is not something that concerns us, Alabi said.
However, the murmuring by several lawmakers showed that they were not in agreement with him.
The speaker then ruled on the motion urging members to allow the investigation to be conducted.
Meanwhile, in line with the opinion held
by several of his colleagues, Hon. Dennis Agbo (Enugu, PDP) condemned
the actions of the DSS, adding that it should be condemned by all
Nigerians.
He said that the present government does not seem to be interested in governing by the rule of law.
“We are fast descending into anarchy and
the law of the jungle, where might is right,” the lawmaker told THISDAY
while reacting to the development.
“Why the militarisation of the whole
process for unarmed judges that had not resisted or evaded arrest? Why
all the orchestrations? Had these judges ever been invited for
interrogation and did they refuse to honour the invitation?” Agbo
queried.
The lawmaker said the “the brazen act of
lawlessness” was first visited on the National Assembly leadership, and
has now been extended to the judiciary.
“Who knows who or what is next?” the lawmaker said.
Culled from Thisday
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