Melaye Comes Hard on Buhari Over DSS' Invasion and Arrest of Judges

President Muhammadu Buhari

 

Following the latest onslaught against alleged corrupt judges who were arrested by the DSS, a Nigerian lawmaker has bashed President Buhari over the incident. 

Senator Dino Melaye of the All Progressives Congress, representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the National Assembly has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari on the recent gestapo manner the Department of State Security officials arrested some Supreme Court judges.

 

He said the manner President Buhari through the DSS to invaded the residence of some Judges is "absolutely wrong and unacceptable" which is capable of setting a bad precedent in a democratic state.

 

He said, "I have studied the Act setting up DSS, Nigerian Intelligence Agency and DIA and can conclude that the DSS operatives went outside their core mandate. There is no doubt that many Judges are corrupt. It is also important to state the need to sanitise the judiciary of corruption that make Judges not to give commercial rulings which create terrible precedence in our legal system. Judges have no immunity and can be tried and should be tried but the use of DSS is absolutely wrong.

"The DSS operatives even when they overstretched themselves and conducted investigations on the Judges. They ought to hand over their findings to the appropriate institutions of government: the Police or National Judicial Council for prosecution and punishment.

"The rule of law is a core value of governance and therefore must be guided jealousy. Prosecution of civil and corruption cases in not the responsibility of DSS. Internal security is the main duty of the DSS and they should stick to that. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

 

It was gathered that two of the Justices were said to have recently ruled against the DSS and condemned its disregard of the laws of the land during its operations.

 

The Judges: Justices Walter Onnoghen and Sylvester Ngwuta are of the Supreme Court, while Justices Adeniyi Ademola and Nnamdi Dimgba are of the Federal High Court. Justices Onnoghen is the second in rank and the most likely successor to the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria.

 

Justice Ademola was taken away at about 5am on Saturday, while the DSS operatives allegedly beat up Justice Dimgba’s brother during the operation.

 

On Friday, Justice Muazu Pindiga, who was the first chairman of the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal, before he was changed midway into the hearing of the dispute arising from the 2015 governorship election in the state, was arrested in Gombe and has not been heard from since then.