Judicial Corruption: Group urges President Buhari to sack Amaechi and Onu

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 must be relieved of their positions 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..