Unic Press UK: Many Nigerians have expressed shock over the arrest of judges’ [members of the Nigerian judiciary] in the dead of the night on Saturday, the 8th October 2016, by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Femi Olu-Kayode [also known as Femi Fani-Kayode], in a statement that was issued the same day the judges’ were arrested, said:
“Their homes were raided by hundreds of fully armed DSS commandos between 1.00 and 2.00 a.m. this morning. Their streets were surrounded and sealed up. Their gates and front doors were smashed open and they forcefully and violently arrested and detained. Their families and loved ones were traumatised and terrorised. Their staff and members of their household were held captive, threatened and sent scampering for cover under their beds.
“Yet those that suffered these gross violations of their fundamental human rights, civil liberties and indignities were not wily and desperate politicians or hardened miltary men that were fighting and conspiring against the government or plotting a military coup d’etat. They were not dangerous dissidents or Boko Haram terrorists. They were not battle-hardened Niger Deltan Avengers or seasoned OPC and IPOB fighters. They were not members of a dangerous and evil armed cult that were plotting to kill innocent people and they were not a group of radical and desperate secessionists or freedom fighters. They were not angry students or trade unionists that were planning to block the streets, to stop all movement and activity, to bring the country to a standstill or to burn the nation down. They were none of these things and included none of these groups or people. Instead they were all senior and respected members of the Nigerian judiciary.”
All this drama and savagery b'cos they want to intimidate and control the judiciary and b'cos they don't want a southerner to be the next CJ
— Femi Olu-Kayode(FFK) (@realFFK) October 8, 2016
No Presidential address, no public inquiry… Just middle of the night gestapo style arrest of senior judges.
This is not a president— Amara Nwankpa (@Nwankpa_A) October 8, 2016
Educated people defending the "arrest" of Court Judges at 1.00am. I hope you'll be able to tell your future kids you were once foolish.
— Oluwaseun® (@VillageParrot) October 8, 2016
If they can threaten Governors and arrest judges, who are we? Nigeria is no longer a safe place. You can start applying for asylum now.
— Lady B. (@KBUdeogu) October 8, 2016
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Saturday, the 8th of October declared a state of emergency in the Nigerian judiciary, and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to use his offices to enforce immediate release of the judges’ who were arrested.
The President of the NBA, Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, said there would be consequences should their request for the arrested judges’ be ignored by the government.
Mahmoud said, “I want to emphasise again that we are not under military rule and we cannot accept this unholy event and Gestapo-style operation.
“We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately caution all the state security agencies and to respect the rule of law and to respect due process.
“Any issues affecting the judicial officers, there are established procedures for handling them and we demand that this constitutional process must be obeyed.
“Given the unfolding nature of the event and the seriousness of the situation, the NBA hereby declares a state of emergency as it affects the affairs of the judiciary and I hereby constitute a crisis management team, comprising all past presidents of the association.
“I want to, on behalf of the association, make the very following clear and unequivocal demands: we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all the judges abducted from about 9pm yesterday (Friday).
“The release must be done immediately and without any conditions. Two, we demand that the Department of State Services should limit itself to its statutory and constitutional responsibilities.
“I’ll be meeting with the CJN later tonight or tomorrow. There will be consequences should these demands are not met.”
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In a response directed at those questioning the rationality behind the arrest of judges’, the senior special assistant to the President on prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, said on his Facebook page on Sunday, the 9th October 2016, that:
“The argument by some that the sting operations carried by the DSS on homes of senior Judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court last Friday which led to recovery of vast sums of money in various current denominations is an infraction on the independence and sanctity of the judicial branch of government is hogwash.
“There is no infringement on the independence and sanctity of the judiciary in any manner whatsoever.
“Judges do not have immunity to do what they like.
“When a judge collects bribe to pervert the course of Justice is that not in itself an infraction of the independence of the judiciary and a threat to the sanctity of the judiciary?
“When a judge commits a crime is both a professional misconduct and a crime. In such a circumstance it is no more the business of the National Judicial Council to deal with it but also a matter for security agencies to handle.
“The DSS does not need more explanation more than what it had done.
“NJC has been protecting and covering senior judges!
“We have evidence and this why we resort to such measures…. It is perverse logic ans reasoning for any body to contend that independence of the judicial branch of government means that the executive branch of government should close it eyes to the infractions of the law and Constitution by Judges.”
