Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by houstonia(m): 9:40am On Oct 13, 2016 |
W |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by Nobody: 9:40am On Oct 13, 2016 |
Jail the judicial THIEVES & drown the keys!...rawbishness!! |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by ije22: 9:41am On Oct 13, 2016 |
tete7000:
You didnt read the part that said search warrant issued by court is only executable between 6am and 6pm, not 1am as done by DSS. When you invade people's home by 1am, it could amount to breaking in. These are known prominent men in the society why invade their houses in the dead of the night?
u can invade a criminal house any time oga 1 Like |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by Omeokachie: 9:52am On Oct 13, 2016 |
Maga Mugu is about to be made the fall guy for this people. Serves him right though, since he started fighting corruption on the pages of newspapers. |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by profmsboi(m): 9:58am On Oct 13, 2016 |
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Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by profmsboi(m): 10:01am On Oct 13, 2016 |
Niyi Odebode, Olusola Fabiyi, Fidelis Soriwei,
Friday Olokor, Ade Adesomoju, Adelani Adepegba
and Ramon Oladimeji
The Federal Ministry of Justice decided to
forward petitions against judges bordering on
alleged corrupt acts to the Department of State
Services when the ministry discovered that the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission failed
to act on previous petitions as expected, The
PUNCH learnt on Wednesday.
It was gathered that some human rights groups
forwarded petitions to the Federal Ministry of
Justice when the anti-graft agency failed to
investigate and prosecute the judges.
Investigations also showed that the relationship
between the EFCC and the Ministry of Justice had
been frosty.
It was gathered that the problem between the
agencies was caused by the inability of the anti-
graft agency to speedily investigate some of the
cases forwarded to it by the ministry.
The government source, who confided in The
PUNCH, cited a petition on the withdrawal of
over N11bn from the Rivers State Government’s
account between October, 2015, and February,
2016.
According to an exclusive report by The PUNCH on
June 24, the Attorney General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami,
had, in March, 2016, directed the EFCC to
investigate the withdrawal, which the ministry
described as suspicious.
“From all indications, because of the EFCC’s
seeming inaction on some of these cases, the
ministry of justice has now resorted to
forwarding the petitions to the DSS. Obviously
the EFCC is not happy with this,” the source
stated.
The relationship between the ministry and the
anti-graft agency has actually not been cordial
since President Muhammadu Buhari sent the
Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition)
Bill, 2016, to the National Assembly through the
AGF earlier this year.
The EFCC definitely sees nothing good about the
law, though it acknowledges that the extant
Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011
(amended in 2012) needs to be amended again.
On the new law, the EFCC catalogued what it
considered the many flaws of the new bill in a
position paper, which it submitted to the National
Assembly.
It pointed out in the paper, which was obtained
by one of our correspondents, that among others,
“it is not advisable to pass the bill into law.”
The EFCC maintained that the passage of the bill
into law would be inimical to Nigeria’s standing
in the next round of mutual evaluation of the
nation’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-
Financing of Terrorism by the relevant
international bodies.
It is obvious from the issues raised by the
commission that it is apprehensive that the bill
seeks to whittle down some its powers under the
EFCC Act.The PUNCH gathered on Wednesday that
the EFCC was bitter because it was already
investigating some of the judges, who were
arrested by the DSS on Friday and Saturday.
The DSS had, in what it called a sting operation,
arrested Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro,
both of the Supreme Court; the suspended
Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin
Division, Justice Mohammed Tsamiya; Justice
Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court and
Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High
Court, Abuja.
Others arrested were a former Chief Judge of
Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, and Muazu
Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe
Division.
It was also learnt the rivalry between the two
agencies came to a head when the EFCC allegedly
opposed the takeover of the investigations of
some petitions against some judges, which it had
already worked on.
A top government source, who confided in The
PUNCH, said the EFCC was also not favourably
disposed to investigating some judges, who had
assisted in the speedy trial of graft cases
instituted by the commission.
The source stated, “The point of disagreement
came from the investigation into the petitions.
While the EFCC thought that the DSS should steer
clear of the petitions because it had already
worked on them, the service and the Federal
Ministry of Justice insisted that the commission
was slow in its investigations.
A source in the EFCC explained that if not for
the rivalry, the DSS should have involved the
commission in the investigation into the graft
allegations against the judges.
He stated that the anti-graft commission was of
the view that the DSS disrupted ongoing
investigations being carried out by it into the
alleged corrupt practices by some judges.
According to him, the EFCC has been carrying out
discreet investigations into the activities of
three judges, which were said to be jeopardised
by the raids conducted by the DSS.
“It is a DSS operation. The EFCC is not involved.
The raids carried out on the judges’ residents
have affected our ongoing investigation into the
activities of some of the judges.
“What this has done is that they have alerted
those suspected judges. With what they have
done, they have alerted them to be careful,” the
source in the commission told The PUNCH on
Wednesday.
We earlier submitted petitions against judges to
EFCC –CSNAC
The Chairman of the Civil Society Network
Against Corruption, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju,
confirmed to one of our correspondents that his
petitions against some of the judges were earlier
sent to the EFCC.
“We sent the petitions to the EFCC and in fact,
the anti-graft agency commenced investigation.
“They found evidence against one or two of the
judges, but it was obvious that they could not
proceed against the suspected judges,” he said
without explanations.
It was gathered that the group as well as Human
and Environmental Development Agenda Resource
Centre had initially sent some of the petitions
against the judges to the NJC and the EFCC.
DSS free to carry out its operations, say Police
On the role of the police in the raids, the Force
Public Relations Officer, Donald Awunah, in an
interview with one of our correspondents, said
though the police and the DSS engaged in inter-
agency collaboration, the arrest of the judges
was not a joint operation.
Awunah said the DSS had the right to carry out
its operations without involving the police.
“You cannot say the non-involvement of the
police in the operation by the DSS amounted to
lack of confidence in the Force. We engaged in
inter-service collaboration from time to time,
but the DSS is free to carry out its own operation
alone without involving us,” he stated.
Corruption is threatening our internal security –
Sagay
When The PUNCH contacted the Chairman of the
Presidential Advisory Committee Against
Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), he faulted
the argument that the DSS acted outside its
statutory mandate by arresting some judges
when its operatives raided their houses.
He described the argument canvassed against the
DSS operation as puerile.
According to Sagay, the allegations of bribe-
taking, levelled against some judges, especially
when they have to do with election cases, can
cause a breach of security which falls within the
mandate of the DSS.
He said, “That is a very puerile interpretation of
the mandate of the DSS. The DSS is established to
maintain internal security through intelligence
operations.
“I think it’s got to a stage where judicial
corruption was beginning to threaten internal
security in the sense that if you look at the case
of elections, for example, taking bribes and
declaring somebody, who lost an election or who
did not win an election, as the winner,
particularly, those who first bribed the
Independent National Electoral Commission, then
engaged in killing people and destroying
properties in order to get there.
“If such people’s elections are upheld, that
threatens internal security because the other
party, knowing that the party that was declared
winner did not win the election or that there was
no election, and that the party got there by a
combination of bloody combat and bribery of the
judiciary, will also tend to resort to force of arms
and then you can have a disintegration of the
society.
“So when bribery gets out of hand and the
consequences are becoming devastating, it can
create conflict within the society and that, in my
view, can result in a breach of security.”
DSS has no business with corruption matters –
Ozekhome
But Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) said the DSS had
no business with corruption matters.
Ozekhome stated, “Emphasise it to them (the
Federal Government) that provisions of Sections
10, 11, 12, 13, 186, 187 of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act which some have incredibly
argued presumably allow unarmed and non-
resistant citizens’ homes to be broken into to be
searched at any time of the day or night,
including weekend and public holidays, constitute
a violent violation of sections 34, 35, 36 and 37
of the 1999 constitution and are accordingly null
and void by virtue of sections 1 (1) and 1 (3) of
the same constitution.
According to him, search warrants validly issued
by a court of competent jurisdiction are only
executed between 6am and 6pm.
He added, “Under our laws, the DSS is concerned
with matters of internal security. It has no
business whatsoever with corruption matters,
which are the exclusive preserve of the EFCC, the
ICPC and the police.”
Also, Chief Edward Ashiekaa (SAN), said from the
enabling Act creating DSS, it did not have the
power to prosecute.
“Some people keep making references to FBI
(Federal Bureau of Investigation) of the United
States, but the FBI only investigates and hands
over to the Department of Justice for
prosecution,” he said.
Efforts to get the reaction of the DSS did not
succeed as it had yet to get a spokesman.
CSNAC’s petitions received our attention based
on merit –EFCC
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren, said while he did not know the
particular judges referred to by the CSNAC,
petitions received from the group on several
sectors were duly treated.
He said, “I don’t know some of the judges under
reference. But suffice it to say that the
commission has over the years received petitions
from CSNAC covering several sectors and issues.
“All received attention based on merit
Too long...
Summarize |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by ElsonMorali: 10:10am On Oct 13, 2016 |
Maybe EFCC and ICPC have both outlived their usefulness.
Unfortunately the sleeping giant called Danbazau who's supposed to be the minister of interior seems to have put his sleep in gear 5.
This is the time to vote for state and federal police. Our internal security system is a wash.
I can imagine FBI doing exactly what DSS did to the judges. |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by rusher14: 10:22am On Oct 13, 2016 |
tete7000:
You didnt read the part that said search warrant issued by court is only executable between 6am and 6pm, not 1am as done by DSS. When you invade people's home by 1am, it could amount to breaking in. These are known prominent men in the society why invade their houses in the dead of the night?
Ozekhome is wrong and he knows it but people like him often cite obsolete laws to sway public opinion.
No SAN can claim he hasn't read the administration of criminal justice act of 2015 that permits execution of a warrant anytime of the day and on any day.
Please see Section 121 - 4 and Section 148.
1 Like 1 Share |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by tete7000(m): 10:31am On Oct 13, 2016 |
ije22: u can invade a criminal house any time oga No one is a criminal until convicted in a law court. If your assertion is right, there won't be need for a search warrant at all. It is behaviour like that that shows that our society is still backward when it come to execution of law. And the people we are talking about here are our justices, if you don't respect their persons, respect their offices at least until they are deposed. |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by tete7000(m): 10:36am On Oct 13, 2016 |
rusher14:
Ozekhome is wrong and he knows it but people like him often cite obsolete laws to sway public opinion.
No SAN can claim he hasn't read the administration of criminal justice act of 2015 that permits execution of a warrant anytime of the day and on any day.
Please see Section 121 - 4 and Section 148.
I am not a lawyer but I am sure those are legal matters that if true could obstruct the ability of government to successfully carry out a prosecution. |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by Nobody: 10:36am On Oct 13, 2016 |
ExInferis:
EFCC wouldn't act on the petitions of the public and NGOs as well as the directive of the AGF, so the DSS was sent in. Some lawyers think DSS was right in its actions, others don't. Meanwhile the police have no problems with the DSS going it alone.
There. Thanks 1 Like |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by Reference(m): 10:39am On Oct 13, 2016 |
Said enough about this rubbish going on in government. If the EFCC is faulty why not repair it. The mechanics of Nigeria will rather use hydraulic fluid in the engine block because fake engine oil abounds. How wise? Is the EFCC above the law to create 'frosty' relationships with the government it serves. I just don't get it. If the head of the EFCC refuses to prosecute judges why can't he be removed and someone else appointed to do the job. But I suspect the government is not following the right procedure and this is rather about individual interests forwhich does not fit institutional moulds. The result is clear. The government comtinjes to undermine its institutions sacrificing them yet again on the altar of individuals andtheir interests. Later they turn round and wonder why they donot work when they seek the help of these institutions they systematically destroy. |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by Justinah4real(f): 10:53am On Oct 13, 2016 |
figure007: EFCC also corrupt na ... thieves everywhere you go like MTN..... pls who knows the whereabouts of honourable Chief Mr Criminal Dasuki... it's long I heard from him ... e don dey jail or now chilling at home ... all these judges self no gree read out verdicts of these criminals ..mtcheww The youths should wake up,its already very late. Our globe trotter is just creating a sensation/DIVERSION, to cover up the increase in dollars. Before we wake up, u will hear that there was no evidence to arrest the Judges, the matter dies down. Do u remember what happened in senate president, saraki, or the looters? Meanwhile globe troter has increased the dollar from 150 to 450naira,no light in niger delta. No evidence to arrest. Youths be wise. Its a mere diversion. |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by AnanseK(m): 10:55am On Oct 13, 2016 |
Ovamboland: what is Ozekhome talking about? Will it not be madness to insinuate DSS officers will break an open door?
If the occupants opened the external and all internal doors and did not pretend that they can't find the keys there will be no need to break any door All this your wailing is peripheral to the issue. Nigeria is being crippled by corruption and even most senior persons in the judiciary are deeply involved. Any means necessary to rescue this country is justifiable. I hope you are not suggesting that no senior judges are corrupt or that they are above the law? |
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Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by AnanseK(m): 10:59am On Oct 13, 2016 |
tete7000:
No one is a criminal until convicted in a law court. If your assertion is right, there won't be need for a search warrant at all. It is behaviour like that that shows that our society is still backward when it come to execution of law.
And the people we are talking about here are our justices, if you don't respect their persons, respect their offices at least until they are deposed. See pretense! You know that some of these judges are criminals whose greed is making the country lawless. Judgement is based on how much you can pay. And you are still pretending that they are respectable. Nonsense. 1 Like |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by tete7000(m): 11:06am On Oct 13, 2016 |
AnanseK:
See pretense! You know that some of these judges are criminals whose greed is making the country lawless. Judgement is based on how much you can pay. And you are still pretending that they are respectable. Nonsense. Until convicted by a competent law court. You don't condemn and convict people based on hearsay. |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by dotcomnamename: 11:18am On Oct 13, 2016 |
[s] careytommy7: A good lawyer friend of mine sent me this article: Ewa Edmund Ekpo wrote and with respect to every other thing I have read on this topic, I agree Intoto!
First I speak as a lawyer. What is wrong with arresting a judge over corrupt charges in this fantastically corrupt country of ours? Nothing! Absolutely nothing because nobody is above the law. So what then is wrong with the recent SSS raid and search of the homes of judges and even arresting some of the Justices - probably some of their family members inclusive? Everything! The reason here is the same. The SSS is not above the law! This is so because the SSS as the case may be is the third of the three national security agencies established by the National Security Agencies Act. And the act defines their functions and jurisdiction in plain and simple English conveyed through section 2(3)(a),(b)&(c). This is how it reads: (3) The State Security Service shall be charged with responsibility for- (a) the prevention and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria; (b) the protection and preservation of all non-military classified matters concerning the internal security of Nigeria; and (c) such other responsibilities affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary. Hence, the SSS has no business raiding people's homes over mere allegations or suspicions of fraud. That is what the EFCC and Police are empowered to do through laid down procedures. Except and only if these judges have links with threats to national security then the SSS utterly acted Ultra Vires. Now even if the SSS were so empowered the law on searching and arresting also was not followed. But then how does one follow the law to do illegitimate acts? The requirement of the law is that a person(s) seeking to search a premises must first be identified in person and numbers and equally searched by the owner or adult occupant of the premises before he or they may proceed with the search still in the company of the adult occupant. But the Gestapo style with which the SSS carried out their action violated all of these. The import and purport of this is that the so called monies recovered from these homes may jolly well have been planted by the same SSS to blackmail their victims and justify their Commando rampage! In essence, their action is nothing more than mere Burglary and Kidnapping! Also to be considered in this light is the right to personal life and property of the victims as guaranteed in section 34 of the 1999 Constitution. Similarly, it is without question that the constitution in sections 4, 5 & 6 clearly defines the three arms of Government which the Judiciary is one and has hitherto lived up to its constitutional expectations where its disciplinary machinery known as the National Judicial Council (NJC) has not failed to discipline Judges duly like it recently sacked the Chief Judge of Enugu state. And it is after this that the regular trial is proceeded with against the person who thereafter is tried under the status of "former judge." That is how military officers are first dismissed through court Marshall before being prosecuted in regular courts and Police Officers dismissed through Orderly Room before they are tried in regular courts.
Perhaps I should speak like a reasonable man: So the SSS raided homes of judges at night and came up with over N300m evidence? The question is when did they count the money? Did they storm the homes with counting machines? It takes almost a whole day to count N100 million Naira with a counting machine in a bank at least I have personally witnessed four people counting ordinary 23 Million Naira in over 5 hours with the use of counting machine in a Bank. So how did the SSS within 2/3 hours of raiding and rampaging quickly count over N300m at night? In Port Harcourt they claimed they were resisted from entering Justice Liman's home yet they knew how much was inside the house they never entered. Meanwhile, the said Justice has come out to state categorically that it was not his house but his neighbor's house that they attempted to raid which confirms Gov. Nyesom Wike's sarcasm that he didn't know which Judge was living in the house they attempted to raid when he came out to arrest the situation as the Chief Security Officer of the State. The man claims he was actually informed by his neighbour in house 34 whom they were threatening to raid and he watched them from his window in House 33 on the same street. Unbelievable! This means that the DSS went to a wrong house and were still able to discover $2m in the wrong house! Such inefficiency! Such incompetence! What a food for thought!
Now I speak as a politician: The Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Buratai has recently been cleared by CCB for owning properties in Dubai worth $1.5m because he filled a form claiming the properties belong to his spouse but Dame Patience Jonathan who rose in the ranks of civil service to permanent secretary and was wife of a Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President for five years cannot own properties undeserving of the eyes of the EFCC and Nobody is asking what work Mrs Buratai does to own such properties in Dubai? The panel of enquiry set up by the government of River state last year indicted former Gov. Amaechi of N53b loot of state reserve fund stolen between 2013 & 2014 yet the FG went ahead to appoint him minister. Justice Piginda while presiding over River state governorship electoral tribunal revealed the DSS intimidated and attempted to bribe him but he declined and was replaced only for Ambrosa who replaced him to deliver the very judgement he refused to give in exchange for the bribe. Thank God the judgement was overturned. But nobody is investigating Ambrosa and others. It is equally imperative to note that justice Dimgba one of the raided judges recently gave a decision against the continued detention of a retired Air Commodore, Mohammed Umar who was arrested following allegations of fraud, illegal possession of firearms and abuse of trust and granted him bail with a bond of N100 million. Justice Dimgba had in his rulingordered the SSS to release Mr. Umar or risk being committed by his court. Unfortunately, the SSS failed to obey the order and continued to hold Mr. Umar. But they did not fail to raid Dimgba's home. It is also very important to note that Justice Adeniyi Ademola is the judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who insisted that the secret trial of Dasuki is unconstitutional and gave the order that it is mandatory for a defendant in a criminal matter to be physically present in court at every stage of the prosecution except where the presence of an accused is excused by court for clear reasons. We are all aware of PMB's disposition to Dasuki and the idea of granting him bail. Justice Ngwuta also on the other hand is said to have been very vocal in the Ekiti Governorship election case where he delivered the lead judgment in the disputed governorship election in Ekiti State, between the APC and Governor Ayo Fayose upholding the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State Governorship election tribunal, which had both ruled that the petition challenging Fayose’s victory lacked merit. So, what we have today is mere political intimidation of the judiciary to follow the body movement of the presidency and this is more so considering the proclivities of Governorship Electoral Tribunal over the just concluded Elections in Edo state where APC mysteriously won courtesy of N2m doled out to INEC officers to change results in favour of APC and DSS is yet to raid their homes. Suffice it to observe also that the present DG of the infamous SSS was the chairman of APC intelligence team during the last election campaign. A role which earned hi recall from retirement to become the DG of SSS. Now He goes about harassing everybody suspected to be against APC! Imagine the loyalty!
Now, I speak as an Akwa Ibom Son. Justice Okoro is from Akwa Ibom state and unfortunately the only one we have managed to have at the level of the Supreme Court in the past 40 years. He was a lawyer, then a magistrate, then a judge of the high court before he was promoted to court of appeal and is now at the Supreme Court and according to the SSS such a man cannot be rich? They claim they raided his home and found €1000 and about N4m. They want us to believe he collected it as bribe? That is if truly the money was his. Perhaps, we should raid Amaechi's House, or Daura's or The I.G's and even Zarha Buhari's house let's see how much we can find there.
Alas! Permit me to speak as a skeptic here: Seven justices sat over the governorship election tribunal appeal at the Supreme Court where the present chief judge and Justice Onoghen (CJN hopeful) were part of. So we are talking about almost 21 justices across board. Meanwhile, Okoro didn't seat over any of these cases and is being accused of collecting money to influence the judgments. So whatever happens to the remaining Justices? Assuming that Okoro sat in any of the cases still only two justices make dissenting judgement. So he couldn't reasonably be the man to catch let alone beating him black and blue. A gesture Boko Haram suspects never got. Could this be a plan to push out Southern Justices from the hierarchy deserving of the position of the Chief Justice of the Federation? I still remember how Justice Udo Udoma was sent to Gambia when he was due as CJN, I do remember how Karibi Whyte was equally sent out of this country for some flimsy assignment. So,are Onighen JSC and others from the south safe now that we have at least three most senior justices in the hierarchy from the south?
Let me now speak as a philosopher. It was Ellie Wiesel who warned that "there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." So now that the FG has by Executive Terrorism decided to molest custodians of the hope of the common man in the name of fighting corruption by selective victimization no matter how noble their claims may appeal it is overwhelmed by the ignobility of their actions. When an executive arm decides to act capriciously with total disregard for rule of law it intrinsically retunes our social contract to what Thomas Hobbes referred to as "life in the pre-societal days..." where "might" in the words of Thrasymacchus makes "right"- a survival of the fittest. Now, where is the wisdom of the staré decisis in Military Governor of Lagos State & Ors v Ojukwu that "where there is rule of law self help takes the back seat." But, the presidential aide on prosecution Mr. Okoi Obono Obla unwittingly let the cat out of the bag during his interview on Channels TV when he confessed "We are looking for the N30b that left the coffers of Rivers State between October and December 2015 and everybody knows when the Supreme Court judgement was delivered". This means that the FG knows what they are looking for but since the law will not let them have their way they decided to do it their way. Ironically, it was the same law that he used to avoid presenting his certificate before contesting for president that he is now paying back with a bad coin. First, it was individual state governments, then the Legislature, then the press, now it is the judiciary. Who knows what and who next? Perhaps now that the law becomes helpless before the people are left with one choice. Self help! Is Buhari's ignorance, stupidity, incompetence and cluelessness taking Nigeria back to John Locke's state of nature? Well, since they want to take the laws into their hands I hope those hands of theirs are big and strong enough for the law and us. Okpo Ewa Edmund is a lawyer, arbitrator and literati presently serving as supervisor for tourism in Okobo LGA, Akwa Ibom State. [/s] Nigerians with lies and copy and paste just to get LIKES on nairaland. 1 Like |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by sissoko22(m): 11:46am On Oct 13, 2016 |
Arrest them all |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by sissoko22(m): 11:49am On Oct 13, 2016 |
What are you saying? |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by devvland(m): 11:56am On Oct 13, 2016 |
ExInferis:
EFCC wouldn't act on the petitions of the public and NGOs as well as the directive of the AGF, so the DSS was sent in. Some lawyers think DSS was right in its actions, others don't. Meanwhile the police have no problems with the DSS going it alone.
There. Nice work, bruv. Got a good head on your shoulders 1 Like |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by AnanseK(m): 12:15pm On Oct 13, 2016 |
tete7000:
Until convicted by a competent law court. You don't condemn and convict people based on hearsay. Yes that's what the authorities are trying to do and none of the suspects have been convicted anyway. But you and your type are happy to make sure there is no competent court of law in the country as senior judges are becoming corrupt because they are not checked. 1 Like |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by devvland(m): 12:21pm On Oct 13, 2016 |
tete7000:
Until convicted by a competent law court. You don't condemn and convict people based on hearsay. And how do you execute that conviction? By respecting their position too much and dragging feet... ? Or by doing the needful and by any means necessary? The French Revolution wasnt the best option, but it was an effective one which changed the perception of power in Europe. This is our revolution, even though the public is either too scared or too divided to engage and purge the political class. Power should belong to the people. But if the people are too dumbb or if propaganda has eroded their reasons so they lose focus on what their true needs are (they fight for the slave masters instead of ridding themselves of the shackles of slavery). When we refuse to dine on the table, then we must make do with crumbs the fall to the floor. DSS operation against judges is one of such crumbs. If you like hang yourself while talk and argue the legal fineries of the matter... Point is a beggar has no choice. Better a lopsided corruption fight than no fight at all. A couple years hence another guard will take over and if there are any monkey business today it will be "witch-hunted" down with much dexterity. That way society purges itself without realizing it and humanity is served, and eventually, the fear of repercussions (if nothing else) will sanitize the process HOPEFULLY |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by omoiyalayi(m): 12:35pm On Oct 13, 2016 |
careytommy7: A good lawyer friend of mine sent me this article: Ewa Edmund Ekpo wrote and with respect to every other thing I have read on this topic, I agree Intoto!
First I speak as a lawyer. What is wrong with arresting a judge over corrupt charges in this fantastically corrupt country of ours? Nothing! Absolutely nothing because nobody is above the law. So what then is wrong with the recent SSS raid and search of the homes of judges and even arresting some of the Justices - probably some of their family members inclusive? Everything! The reason here is the same. The SSS is not above the law! This is so because the SSS as the case may be is the third of the three national security agencies established by the National Security Agencies Act. And the act defines their functions and jurisdiction in plain and simple English conveyed through section 2(3)(a),(b)&(c). This is how it reads: (3) The State Security Service shall be charged with responsibility for- (a) the prevention and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria; (b) the protection and preservation of all non-military classified matters concerning the internal security of Nigeria; and (c) such other responsibilities affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary. Hence, the SSS has no business raiding people's homes over mere allegations or suspicions of fraud. That is what the EFCC and Police are empowered to do through laid down procedures. Except and only if these judges have links with threats to national security then the SSS utterly acted Ultra Vires. Now even if the SSS were so empowered the law on searching and arresting also was not followed. But then how does one follow the law to do illegitimate acts? The requirement of the law is that a person(s) seeking to search a premises must first be identified in person and numbers and equally searched by the owner or adult occupant of the premises before he or they may proceed with the search still in the company of the adult occupant. But the Gestapo style with which the SSS carried out their action violated all of these. The import and purport of this is that the so called monies recovered from these homes may jolly well have been planted by the same SSS to blackmail their victims and justify their Commando rampage! In essence, their action is nothing more than mere Burglary and Kidnapping! Also to be considered in this light is the right to personal life and property of the victims as guaranteed in section 34 of the 1999 Constitution. Similarly, it is without question that the constitution in sections 4, 5 & 6 clearly defines the three arms of Government which the Judiciary is one and has hitherto lived up to its constitutional expectations where its disciplinary machinery known as the National Judicial Council (NJC) has not failed to discipline Judges duly like it recently sacked the Chief Judge of Enugu state. And it is after this that the regular trial is proceeded with against the person who thereafter is tried under the status of "former judge." That is how military officers are first dismissed through court Marshall before being prosecuted in regular courts and Police Officers dismissed through Orderly Room before they are tried in regular courts.
Perhaps I should speak like a reasonable man: So the SSS raided homes of judges at night and came up with over N300m evidence? The question is when did they count the money? Did they storm the homes with counting machines? It takes almost a whole day to count N100 million Naira with a counting machine in a bank at least I have personally witnessed four people counting ordinary 23 Million Naira in over 5 hours with the use of counting machine in a Bank. So how did the SSS within 2/3 hours of raiding and rampaging quickly count over N300m at night? In Port Harcourt they claimed they were resisted from entering Justice Liman's home yet they knew how much was inside the house they never entered. Meanwhile, the said Justice has come out to state categorically that it was not his house but his neighbor's house that they attempted to raid which confirms Gov. Nyesom Wike's sarcasm that he didn't know which Judge was living in the house they attempted to raid when he came out to arrest the situation as the Chief Security Officer of the State. The man claims he was actually informed by his neighbour in house 34 whom they were threatening to raid and he watched them from his window in House 33 on the same street. Unbelievable! This means that the DSS went to a wrong house and were still able to discover $2m in the wrong house! Such inefficiency! Such incompetence! What a food for thought!
Now I speak as a politician: The Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Buratai has recently been cleared by CCB for owning properties in Dubai worth $1.5m because he filled a form claiming the properties belong to his spouse but Dame Patience Jonathan who rose in the ranks of civil service to permanent secretary and was wife of a Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President for five years cannot own properties undeserving of the eyes of the EFCC and Nobody is asking what work Mrs Buratai does to own such properties in Dubai? The panel of enquiry set up by the government of River state last year indicted former Gov. Amaechi of N53b loot of state reserve fund stolen between 2013 & 2014 yet the FG went ahead to appoint him minister. Justice Piginda while presiding over River state governorship electoral tribunal revealed the DSS intimidated and attempted to bribe him but he declined and was replaced only for Ambrosa who replaced him to deliver the very judgement he refused to give in exchange for the bribe. Thank God the judgement was overturned. But nobody is investigating Ambrosa and others. It is equally imperative to note that justice Dimgba one of the raided judges recently gave a decision against the continued detention of a retired Air Commodore, Mohammed Umar who was arrested following allegations of fraud, illegal possession of firearms and abuse of trust and granted him bail with a bond of N100 million. Justice Dimgba had in his rulingordered the SSS to release Mr. Umar or risk being committed by his court. Unfortunately, the SSS failed to obey the order and continued to hold Mr. Umar. But they did not fail to raid Dimgba's home. It is also very important to note that Justice Adeniyi Ademola is the judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who insisted that the secret trial of Dasuki is unconstitutional and gave the order that it is mandatory for a defendant in a criminal matter to be physically present in court at every stage of the prosecution except where the presence of an accused is excused by court for clear reasons. We are all aware of PMB's disposition to Dasuki and the idea of granting him bail. Justice Ngwuta also on the other hand is said to have been very vocal in the Ekiti Governorship election case where he delivered the lead judgment in the disputed governorship election in Ekiti State, between the APC and Governor Ayo Fayose upholding the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State Governorship election tribunal, which had both ruled that the petition challenging Fayose’s victory lacked merit. So, what we have today is mere political intimidation of the judiciary to follow the body movement of the presidency and this is more so considering the proclivities of Governorship Electoral Tribunal over the just concluded Elections in Edo state where APC mysteriously won courtesy of N2m doled out to INEC officers to change results in favour of APC and DSS is yet to raid their homes. Suffice it to observe also that the present DG of the infamous SSS was the chairman of APC intelligence team during the last election campaign. A role which earned hi recall from retirement to become the DG of SSS. Now He goes about harassing everybody suspected to be against APC! Imagine the loyalty!
Now, I speak as an Akwa Ibom Son. Justice Okoro is from Akwa Ibom state and unfortunately the only one we have managed to have at the level of the Supreme Court in the past 40 years. He was a lawyer, then a magistrate, then a judge of the high court before he was promoted to court of appeal and is now at the Supreme Court and according to the SSS such a man cannot be rich? They claim they raided his home and found €1000 and about N4m. They want us to believe he collected it as bribe? That is if truly the money was his. Perhaps, we should raid Amaechi's House, or Daura's or The I.G's and even Zarha Buhari's house let's see how much we can find there.
Alas! Permit me to speak as a skeptic here: Seven justices sat over the governorship election tribunal appeal at the Supreme Court where the present chief judge and Justice Onoghen (CJN hopeful) were part of. So we are talking about almost 21 justices across board. Meanwhile, Okoro didn't seat over any of these cases and is being accused of collecting money to influence the judgments. So whatever happens to the remaining Justices? Assuming that Okoro sat in any of the cases still only two justices make dissenting judgement. So he couldn't reasonably be the man to catch let alone beating him black and blue. A gesture Boko Haram suspects never got. Could this be a plan to push out Southern Justices from the hierarchy deserving of the position of the Chief Justice of the Federation? I still remember how Justice Udo Udoma was sent to Gambia when he was due as CJN, I do remember how Karibi Whyte was equally sent out of this country for some flimsy assignment. So,are Onighen JSC and others from the south safe now that we have at least three most senior justices in the hierarchy from the south?
Let me now speak as a philosopher. It was Ellie Wiesel who warned that "there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." So now that the FG has by Executive Terrorism decided to molest custodians of the hope of the common man in the name of fighting corruption by selective victimization no matter how noble their claims may appeal it is overwhelmed by the ignobility of their actions. When an executive arm decides to act capriciously with total disregard for rule of law it intrinsically retunes our social contract to what Thomas Hobbes referred to as "life in the pre-societal days..." where "might" in the words of Thrasymacchus makes "right"- a survival of the fittest. Now, where is the wisdom of the staré decisis in Military Governor of Lagos State & Ors v Ojukwu that "where there is rule of law self help takes the back seat." But, the presidential aide on prosecution Mr. Okoi Obono Obla unwittingly let the cat out of the bag during his interview on Channels TV when he confessed "We are looking for the N30b that left the coffers of Rivers State between October and December 2015 and everybody knows when the Supreme Court judgement was delivered". This means that the FG knows what they are looking for but since the law will not let them have their way they decided to do it their way. Ironically, it was the same law that he used to avoid presenting his certificate before contesting for president that he is now paying back with a bad coin. First, it was individual state governments, then the Legislature, then the press, now it is the judiciary. Who knows what and who next? Perhaps now that the law becomes helpless before the people are left with one choice. Self help! Is Buhari's ignorance, stupidity, incompetence and cluelessness taking Nigeria back to John Locke's state of nature? Well, since they want to take the laws into their hands I hope those hands of theirs are big and strong enough for the law and us. Okpo Ewa Edmund is a lawyer, arbitrator and literati presently serving as supervisor for tourism in Okobo LGA, Akwa Ibom State. Na wa 4 u o Who u tink say go read all dis epistle jst because u want 2 prove a point I beg park well |
Re: Why Malami Shuns EFCC, Sends Judges’ Cases To DSS by xjiggy: 3:31pm On Oct 13, 2016 |
careytommy7: A good lawyer friend of mine sent me this article: Ewa Edmund Ekpo wrote and with respect to every other thing I have read on this topic, I agree Intoto!
First I speak as a lawyer. What is wrong with arresting a judge over corrupt charges in this fantastically corrupt country of ours? Nothing! Absolutely nothing because nobody is above the law. So what then is wrong with the recent SSS raid and search of the homes of judges and even arresting some of the Justices - probably some of their family members inclusive? Everything! The reason here is the same. The SSS is not above the law! This is so because the SSS as the case may be is the third of the three national security agencies established by the National Security Agencies Act. And the act defines their functions and jurisdiction in plain and simple English conveyed through section 2(3)(a),(b)&(c). This is how it reads: (3) The State Security Service shall be charged with responsibility for- (a) the prevention and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria; (b) the protection and preservation of all non-military classified matters concerning the internal security of Nigeria; and (c) such other responsibilities affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary. Hence, the SSS has no business raiding people's homes over mere allegations or suspicions of fraud. That is what the EFCC and Police are empowered to do through laid down procedures. Except and only if these judges have links with threats to national security then the SSS utterly acted Ultra Vires. Now even if the SSS were so empowered the law on searching and arresting also was not followed. But then how does one follow the law to do illegitimate acts? The requirement of the law is that a person(s) seeking to search a premises must first be identified in person and numbers and equally searched by the owner or adult occupant of the premises before he or they may proceed with the search still in the company of the adult occupant. But the Gestapo style with which the SSS carried out their action violated all of these. The import and purport of this is that the so called monies recovered from these homes may jolly well have been planted by the same SSS to blackmail their victims and justify their Commando rampage! In essence, their action is nothing more than mere Burglary and Kidnapping! Also to be considered in this light is the right to personal life and property of the victims as guaranteed in section 34 of the 1999 Constitution. Similarly, it is without question that the constitution in sections 4, 5 & 6 clearly defines the three arms of Government which the Judiciary is one and has hitherto lived up to its constitutional expectations where its disciplinary machinery known as the National Judicial Council (NJC) has not failed to discipline Judges duly like it recently sacked the Chief Judge of Enugu state. And it is after this that the regular trial is proceeded with against the person who thereafter is tried under the status of "former judge." That is how military officers are first dismissed through court Marshall before being prosecuted in regular courts and Police Officers dismissed through Orderly Room before they are tried in regular courts.
Perhaps I should speak like a reasonable man: So the SSS raided homes of judges at night and came up with over N300m evidence? The question is when did they count the money? Did they storm the homes with counting machines? It takes almost a whole day to count N100 million Naira with a counting machine in a bank at least I have personally witnessed four people counting ordinary 23 Million Naira in over 5 hours with the use of counting machine in a Bank. So how did the SSS within 2/3 hours of raiding and rampaging quickly count over N300m at night? In Port Harcourt they claimed they were resisted from entering Justice Liman's home yet they knew how much was inside the house they never entered. Meanwhile, the said Justice has come out to state categorically that it was not his house but his neighbor's house that they attempted to raid which confirms Gov. Nyesom Wike's sarcasm that he didn't know which Judge was living in the house they attempted to raid when he came out to arrest the situation as the Chief Security Officer of the State. The man claims he was actually informed by his neighbour in house 34 whom they were threatening to raid and he watched them from his window in House 33 on the same street. Unbelievable! This means that the DSS went to a wrong house and were still able to discover $2m in the wrong house! Such inefficiency! Such incompetence! What a food for thought!
Now I speak as a politician: The Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Buratai has recently been cleared by CCB for owning properties in Dubai worth $1.5m because he filled a form claiming the properties belong to his spouse but Dame Patience Jonathan who rose in the ranks of civil service to permanent secretary and was wife of a Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President for five years cannot own properties undeserving of the eyes of the EFCC and Nobody is asking what work Mrs Buratai does to own such properties in Dubai? The panel of enquiry set up by the government of River state last year indicted former Gov. Amaechi of N53b loot of state reserve fund stolen between 2013 & 2014 yet the FG went ahead to appoint him minister. Justice Piginda while presiding over River state governorship electoral tribunal revealed the DSS intimidated and attempted to bribe him but he declined and was replaced only for Ambrosa who replaced him to deliver the very judgement he refused to give in exchange for the bribe. Thank God the judgement was overturned. But nobody is investigating Ambrosa and others. It is equally imperative to note that justice Dimgba one of the raided judges recently gave a decision against the continued detention of a retired Air Commodore, Mohammed Umar who was arrested following allegations of fraud, illegal possession of firearms and abuse of trust and granted him bail with a bond of N100 million. Justice Dimgba had in his rulingordered the SSS to release Mr. Umar or risk being committed by his court. Unfortunately, the SSS failed to obey the order and continued to hold Mr. Umar. But they did not fail to raid Dimgba's home. It is also very important to note that Justice Adeniyi Ademola is the judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who insisted that the secret trial of Dasuki is unconstitutional and gave the order that it is mandatory for a defendant in a criminal matter to be physically present in court at every stage of the prosecution except where the presence of an accused is excused by court for clear reasons. We are all aware of PMB's disposition to Dasuki and the idea of granting him bail. Justice Ngwuta also on the other hand is said to have been very vocal in the Ekiti Governorship election case where he delivered the lead judgment in the disputed governorship election in Ekiti State, between the APC and Governor Ayo Fayose upholding the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State Governorship election tribunal, which had both ruled that the petition challenging Fayose’s victory lacked merit. So, what we have today is mere political intimidation of the judiciary to follow the body movement of the presidency and this is more so considering the proclivities of Governorship Electoral Tribunal over the just concluded Elections in Edo state where APC mysteriously won courtesy of N2m doled out to INEC officers to change results in favour of APC and DSS is yet to raid their homes. Suffice it to observe also that the present DG of the infamous SSS was the chairman of APC intelligence team during the last election campaign. A role which earned hi recall from retirement to become the DG of SSS. Now He goes about harassing everybody suspected to be against APC! Imagine the loyalty!
Now, I speak as an Akwa Ibom Son. Justice Okoro is from Akwa Ibom state and unfortunately the only one we have managed to have at the level of the Supreme Court in the past 40 years. He was a lawyer, then a magistrate, then a judge of the high court before he was promoted to court of appeal and is now at the Supreme Court and according to the SSS such a man cannot be rich? They claim they raided his home and found €1000 and about N4m. They want us to believe he collected it as bribe? That is if truly the money was his. Perhaps, we should raid Amaechi's House, or Daura's or The I.G's and even Zarha Buhari's house let's see how much we can find there.
Alas! Permit me to speak as a skeptic here: Seven justices sat over the governorship election tribunal appeal at the Supreme Court where the present chief judge and Justice Onoghen (CJN hopeful) were part of. So we are talking about almost 21 justices across board. Meanwhile, Okoro didn't seat over any of these cases and is being accused of collecting money to influence the judgments. So whatever happens to the remaining Justices? Assuming that Okoro sat in any of the cases still only two justices make dissenting judgement. So he couldn't reasonably be the man to catch let alone beating him black and blue. A gesture Boko Haram suspects never got. Could this be a plan to push out Southern Justices from the hierarchy deserving of the position of the Chief Justice of the Federation? I still remember how Justice Udo Udoma was sent to Gambia when he was due as CJN, I do remember how Karibi Whyte was equally sent out of this country for some flimsy assignment. So,are Onighen JSC and others from the south safe now that we have at least three most senior justices in the hierarchy from the south?
Let me now speak as a philosopher. It was Ellie Wiesel who warned that "there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." So now that the FG has by Executive Terrorism decided to molest custodians of the hope of the common man in the name of fighting corruption by selective victimization no matter how noble their claims may appeal it is overwhelmed by the ignobility of their actions. When an executive arm decides to act capriciously with total disregard for rule of law it intrinsically retunes our social contract to what Thomas Hobbes referred to as "life in the pre-societal days..." where "might" in the words of Thrasymacchus makes "right"- a survival of the fittest. Now, where is the wisdom of the staré decisis in Military Governor of Lagos State & Ors v Ojukwu that "where there is rule of law self help takes the back seat." But, the presidential aide on prosecution Mr. Okoi Obono Obla unwittingly let the cat out of the bag during his interview on Channels TV when he confessed "We are looking for the N30b that left the coffers of Rivers State between October and December 2015 and everybody knows when the Supreme Court judgement was delivered". This means that the FG knows what they are looking for but since the law will not let them have their way they decided to do it their way. Ironically, it was the same law that he used to avoid presenting his certificate before contesting for president that he is now paying back with a bad coin. First, it was individual state governments, then the Legislature, then the press, now it is the judiciary. Who knows what and who next? Perhaps now that the law becomes helpless before the people are left with one choice. Self help! Is Buhari's ignorance, stupidity, incompetence and cluelessness taking Nigeria back to John Locke's state of nature? Well, since they want to take the laws into their hands I hope those hands of theirs are big and strong enough for the law and us. Okpo Ewa Edmund is a lawyer, arbitrator and literati presently serving as supervisor for tourism in Okobo LGA, Akwa Ibom State. oga, I didn't have to read your text past the third paragraph because it was too long and bias. If u know law, you don't know common reasoning. 1 subverting justice by collecting bribes to confirm a wrong result in an election leads to internal strife. We all know how many people died in Rivers because of the upturn of the court of appeals decision by the supreme court.. how do u define internal security when people cannot move freely because of govt paid political thugs wrecking havoc on innocent citizens 2. Most of the monies recovered from the judges were in foreign denominations. Counting $150,000 & £55,000 is not hard. To get the naira equivalent is simply. You need a simple calculator. You're just a myopic, biased, charge and bail lawyer seeking relevance on social media with a long baseless editorial. It is lawyers like you that is causing poor Nigerians to be wallowing in jail awaiting trial for nothing while the rich are given #82,000 fines for stealing over #2billion in pension funds |
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