A group of activists has declared that any corrupt Judge found guilty of corruption by the Court of Competent Jurisdiction should bag jail term of seven years in consonance with sections 98, 99 and 494 of the Criminal Code of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Section 172 & 209 and part 5th schedule, part 1 of section 6&8 of the amended 1999 Constitution.
Rejecting the recent approach of the men of the Department of State Security Service (DSSS) in arresting the few Judges of the Federal High and Supreme Court over corrupt practices by invading their Houses with unconventional weapons which was inimical to the code of Conduct of a security agents.
They also advised President Muhammdu Buhari led- Federal Government to
extend its anti-corruption crusade to the State Judiciary of the
Federation where the corrupt practices have been nurturing to the
highest ebb, saying that the depth of the corruption in the nation’s
judiciary were enormous that needed to be curtailed frontally within
the ambit of the law.
The activists under the aegis of Centre for Human Rights and Social
Justice(CHRSJ) were drawn from; The Christian Awareness Mission
Group(CAMG),Passengers Fundamental Rights Group(PATRGIA),The Islamic
Political Awareness Group(TIPAG),Centre for Social Justice and Equity
of Nigeria(CESJEN),Veteran Groups for Operation Clean Crusade(VGOCC),
Apata-Aiyeraye Social Political Volunteer Group(ASPVG), De-Mainstream
Independent Group(DMIG) and Coalition Against Illegal Arrest &
Unlawful Detention (CAIA&UD).
Others were; Centre for Constitutional Rights and Counter Corruption
Crusader, Save Lagos Group(SLG) ,The Conscience
Mainstream(TCM),African Masses Voices for Survival (AMVS),The
Christians Youths for the Peoples’ Rights and
Development(CYPRD),Islamic Movement for Muslims’ Rights(IMMR),Divine
Nigerians Liberators for Peoples’ Fundamental Rights(DNLPFR) and The
Christians Volunteers Groups for Good Governance in Nigeria(TCVGGGN).
Speaking through its National Coordinator, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi
Sulaiman, in a statement which was made available to newsmen, after
their emergency meeting on the “State of Nation” in respect of recent
arrest of some Judges for alleged perceived bribery scandal, insisted
that all the corrupt judges should not be allowed to escape the long
arm of the law because justice should take its due course without
minding whose ox is gored.
They stated that the recent revelation by finding Millions of naira in
different currencies in the residence of the arrested Judges by the
men of State Security Service during their operation, had undermined
the public confidence in the entire judicial system of the country,
adding that the revelation had also eroded the judiciary of its
integrity with the notion that judiciary was the last hope of common
man on the street.
They urged President Buhari to take the cleanse of the judiciary and
other sector of the country of corrupt practices with utmost
seriousness in line with the section of the fundamental law of the
land (the Constitution) in section 15(5) that the State shall abolish
all corrupt practices and abuse of power, noting that the corruption
should be fought to a standstill by all and sundry.
According to them “The fight against the cancer of corruption in
Nigeria should be dealth with frontally because the menace has
affected every segment of our society which impeding the nation’s
socio-economic and political development and growth. To us, with the
revelation from the operation of the men of the Department of State
Security Service (DSSS) that millions of naira was met in the houses
of the affected Judges. Thorough, credible and unbiased investigation
should be conducted into the whole saga and all the affected Judges
should be prosecuted according to the law of the Land. But, by not
following the rule of law in the fight against corruption may capable
of disturbing the struggle against the menace.
“By now, the Judiciary, particularly, the Bench should purge itself of
corruption which has been in the highest ebb in the arm of government
because with the happening in the judiciary today, our Country is
going to extinction. The Bench that are supposed to be in the vanguard
of crusade against corruption now, soiled its hand with the bribery
scandal and no fewer than Seventy–Five percent (75%) of Nigerian
Judges since 2007 are billion Judges through ill-gotten wealth. All
the Judges that participated in Election Petitions Tribunals since
2007 till date should be investigated and after found guilty, their
ill-gotten wealth and property should be confiscated to become the
wealth and property of the country.
It therefore urged Buhari to strengthen the anti-graft agencies, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related offences Commission (ICPC) in
order to be able to nip the menace in the bud, stressing that the
offenders of the corrupt practices, had developed new parameters in
their financial crimes.