NJC Holds Emergency Meeting In Abuja

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The emergency meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC) is about now holding at the three Arm Zone of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Journalists who had gathered early enough to cover the meeting were barred from covering the event, but an insider confirms that the meeting has begun and that the meeting is exclusively for members of the NJC.

This meeting is coming on the hills of the arrest of High Court Judges over

Corruption allegations.

The arrest has thrown up a lot of debate from the cross session of the society.

Meanwhile the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called it absorb and unacceptable, but the Federal Government insists that the ongoing trial of the judges

alleged to be corrupt and not the entire judiciary as agued by the NBA

This is perhaps the first time the Department of the State Service, (DSS) will be making such sweeping arrests and some believe that this is a high jack of the responsibilities of the Nigerian police.

Today’s meeting by the NJC is expected to make pronouncement on the position of the body regarding the arrest of the High Court judges.

Why We Are After Judges, DSS Explains

The DSS, through its Spokesman, Abdullahi Garba, said that the service had in the past few days, embarked on raids of residents of some Judges of the Supreme, Appeal and High Courts.

Mr Garba says the operations are based on allegations of corruptions and other acts of professional misconduct by a few of the suspected Judges.

According to him, “the Service action is in line with its core mandate, as we have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the Judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently and on the basis of amounts of money paid.

“The judges involved were invited, upon which due diligence was exhibited and their premises searched.

“The searches have uncovered huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of Naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these Judges”.

The DSS spokesman further explained that some of the judges had made useful statements while a few declined even with the glaring evidences that were found against them in terms of material cash, documents and property recovered pointing to their compromise.

“In one of the States where the Service operations were conducted, credible intelligence revealed that the Judge had Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000 USD) stashed in his house.

“When he was approached for due search to be conducted, he in concert with the State Governor, mobilised thugs against the Service team.

“The team restrained itself in the face of unbridled provocative activities by those brought in by the Governor.

“Unfortunately, the Judge and Governor also engaged the tacit support of a sister security agency.