Eight more judges and two court registrars are being probed by EFCC over corruption

ANOTHER eight judges and two court registrars are being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following petitions filed against them by aggrieved litigants over their conduct in court.

 

Last weekend, Department of State Services (DSS) operatives arrested Supreme Court judges Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro after their homes were raided. Armed masked DSS operatives also raided the residences of judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Gombe and Port Harcourt, as part of what the government describes as it clampdown on corruption within the judiciary.

 

In addition, the DSS, arrested seven judges on suspicion of corrupt practices, as the fight to stamp out corruption in the Nigerian judiciary continues. Attorney general of the federation Abubakar Malami, said that his office was working closely with the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to drive the agenda to rid the country of corrupt practices.

 

However, the anti-graft agency refused to release the names of the suspects under investigation, noting that the probe of the eight suspects had nothing to do with the ones being conducted by the DSS. EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren, said only one of the seven judges being probed by the DSS featured on the list of those the commission is handling and that the suspects had made useful statements to the agency.

 

He added: “Some of the suspects who have been invited have made useful statements that have been of great assistance to the investigations. In due course, those who have cases to answer would be arrested and charged to court.

 

“Nigerians deserve to know that the nature of professional investigation of financial crimes is highly discrete and not given to theatre. The subject usually does not know the commission is amassing evidence against him or her for several months before the strike."

 

According to Mr Uwajeren, therefore, the notion that a petition is submitted today and the next things that follow are instant arrests, prosecution and conviction, is highly misleading. He pointed out that the EFCC is working with the police, DSS and other agencies like the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to combat corruption in the judiciary.