The National
Judicial Council (NJC), a body whose mandate includes disciplinary action on
members of the Nigerian judiciary who abuse their trust, has asked judges
recently busted for corruption in various sting operations to return to work,
according to a memo released today.
Our sources
also disclosed that the Chief Justice Of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has
been working surreptitiously with some elements within the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) to clear the way for the return to the bench of several
judges either indicted by the NJC or security agencies investigating corruption
within the judiciary.
Last
October, agents of Nigeria’s secret police, Department of State Services (DSS),
raided several judges’ homes in an operation that netted a stash of domestic
and foreign currency, weapons, and, in some cases, incriminating transactions
involving the judges. The operation was meant to continue, conceivably
resulting in the arrest and prosecution of many more judges, but a combination
of pressure from sections of the legal profession as well as operational errors
by the DSS led to the stoppage of the raids which was inevitably heading to the
home of the current CJN, Onnoghen.
Meanwhile, a
few of the judges unmasked by the DSS were arraigned in court. However,
according to our sources in the judiciary, as soon as the judges’ trials
commenced, several senior lawyers and judges met secretly and decided on a plot
to frustrate the prosecution of the judges caught in the raids.
In one
instance, Justice Adeniyi Ademola and his wife had their case thrown out of
court after such high profile meetings, it was alleged that officials of the
Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) helped the embattled judge to declare his assets
through the backdoor. Two of our sources said the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court anchored a series of secret meetings where the decision was taken to
impede the trial of the corrupt judges and return them to the bench.
In
preparation for the NJC’s exoneration and recall of the indicted judges, the
Body of Benchers, chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, met secretly last
week to finalize a strategy to help the judges return to work. After that
maneuver, the NJC last week requested a meeting between Nigeria’s Attorney
General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and senior officials of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In addition, the NBA last week
openly condemned the trials of corrupt judges and demanded that the government
end them.
According to Saharareporters, Today, the
NJC recalled six judges, including Adeniyi Ademola, who was tried for
possession of cash, illegal weapons, and influence peddling. Justice Ademola is
also currently undergoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal for failure to
declare his assets. Also recalled is Agbadu James Fishim of National Industrial
Court of Nigeria who was accused of receiving bribes from at least 20 lawyers.
In addition,
the NJC reinstated Justices John Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court, Uwani Aji
of the Court of Appeal, and Hydiazira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court. All
the reinstated judges were accused of grave acts of corruption in many cases.
Several of them are reportedly implicated in a legal scandal in which one of
Nigeria’s senior lawyers, Ricky Tarfa, is being tried for bribing numerous
judges. Prosecutors and investigators in the Tarfa trial have retrieved a cache
of evidence from the lawyer’s phone records and account statements as well as
those of several judges.
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