The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Mahmud Mohammed, has broken his silence on the raid on the houses and
arrests of two Justices of the Supreme Court and other judges by the
Department of State Services, describing the operations as regrettable.
Justice Mohammed spoke on Monday at the
valedictory court session held in honour of a retiring Justice of the
Supreme Court, Justice Suleiman Galadima.
He said at the event which was held at
the ceremonial courtroom of the Supreme Court in Abuja that the National
Judicial Court would meet on Tuesday to take a position on the
incident.
Mohammed commended the Nigerian Bar Association for the step that it had so far taken on the matter.
He said, “My lords, invited guests,
ladies and gentlemen, not to detract from this occasion, it is indeed
very saddening and deeply regrettable, the distressing and unfortunate
incident which occurred on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8,
2016.
“However, I must ask all Nigerians to
remain calm and prayerful, as emergency meeting of the National Judicial
Council, which will take place tomorrow (Tuesday), will comprehensively
look into the matter.
“Furthermore, I must express my sincere
appreciation to the executive of the Nigerian Bar Association ably led
by the President, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), and indeed all members of the
legal profession for their prompt action and continued support.”
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.
Other arrested were a former Chief Judge
of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, and Muazu Pindiga of the
Federal High Court, Gombe Division.
No comments:
Post a Comment