A human rights group in Nigeria, the Centre for Human Rights and
Social Justice (CHRSJ) has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari to
sack his two Ministers, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the
Ministers of Transport and Science and Technology respectively over
their alleged involvement in the current corruption saga rocking the
nation judicial arm of government, saying that the insistence of the
Presidency, calling for the alleged Judicial Officials to be
relieved of their various judicial duties until they proved their
innocence was in order and this verdict should be also applicable to
the members of the Executive fingered in the saga.
The call was coming as the Yoruba Socio-Political group,”AFENIFERE”
declared that the Minister too, who have been accused should step
aside and face prosecution because what was good for the goose should
also good for the gander, insisting that Amaechi and Onu should be
immediately relieved of their job as the same verdict should
applicable to judicial officials at the centre of alleged judicial
corruption.
It however, advised that all the judicial officials should be made to
declare their asset publicly without further delaying, requesting that
all the investigations surrounding trial of those involved in the
current judicial mess should be made public by mass media in the
interest of justice, equity, transparency and fair-play .
The group, speaking on the development, through its Executive
Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, in a signed Statement which
was made available to newsmen on Thursday, however urged the
appropriate authorities to ensure the thorough investigation of the
Judges and Ministers fingered in the corrupt saga in the country’s
judicial arm of government in order to serve as deterrent to any
public official with corrupt tendencies.
Comrade Sulaiman who doubles as Chairman, Civil Societies Coalition
for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS),also disclosed that the
corruption in the judiciary should be dealt with stiff penalty as
everybody should be treated on the basis of equality before the law of
the land, adding that alleged judicial officials in the ongoing
corrupt practices had eroded the public trust and confidence in the
temple of justice as the last hope of common man.
It said;”All the affected names in this alleged corrupt practices must
ensure to be stepped down in their various positions, for thorough and
credible investigation .There is no moral justification for them to
continue in their various offices when they have not been cleared of
the allegation by credible investigators.Both affected Judges and
Ministers in question should must relieve of their positionsj8dx9w7
without further delaying.They are guilty of alleged corrupt
practices.In law,both givers and takers of bribe are guilty of the
offence as there should not be sacred cow in the fight against
corruption in the land.By now, all the judicial officials should be
compelled to be declaring their asset publicly in six months interval
and such declaring asset should be verifiable.This is another way in
which we can curb corrupt practices in the judicial sector vis a vis
the country”
It would be recalled that two Supreme Court Justices -Justice
Sylvester Ngwuta and Justice Inyang Okoro; the suspended Presiding
Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, Justice Mohammed
Ladan Tsamiya, Justice Adeniyi Ademola (Federal High Court); the Chief
Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike; Justice Kabiru Auta of
Kano State High Court; Justice Muazu Pindiga (Gombe State High
Court); Justice Bashir Sukola and Justice Ladan Manir of Kaduna
State High Court.
Others are;judges, the NJC has recommended sanctions for Justice
Tsamiya; Justice. Umezulike and Justice Kabiru Auta
Meanwhile,the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) was
investigating the judges of the Federal High Court,comprises of
Justices Mohammed Nasir Yunusa; Hyeladzira Ajiya Nganjiwa; Musa Haruna
Kurya; Agbadu James Fishim; Uwani Abba Aji;Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia and
Justice Ibrahim N. Auta..