DSS Releases Judges On Bail, NJC Meets Today

The seven judges, who were arrested on Friday and Saturday by the Department of State Services, have been released on bail.


A source in the DSS, who confided in The PUNCH on Monday evening, said the judges were released on own recognisance on Sunday.

The DSS source said, “They were all released on bail yesterday (Sunday) on own recognisance. They reported this morning (Monday) and they have all gone back home. They will be coming back tomorrow (Tuesday); and everything went very procedurally well and civil.

“They were released on bail on own recognisance based on the fact that given their standing in the society, they cannot run away. They were instructed that they should come back today (Monday) by 10am. They did report for investigation this morning (Monday morning) and they have gone back home.
“The investigation continues and preparation to charge them to court.

“Also, the action was sequel to the lack of cooperation by the National Judicial Council such as the refusal by the NJC to allow the affected persons to be questioned by the DSS. Investigation started some seven months ago, precisely in April 2016.”

A top judiciary officer in Abuja, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the judges had been released.
But calls to the mobile of one of the judges did not go through.

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 the sacked Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, and Muazu Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division.

However, the DSS on Monday, intensified its ongoing investigation of two Justices of the Supreme Court and other judges arrested over the weekend after simultaneous raids on their homes.

Top sources in the Federal Ministry of Justice confided in one of our correspondents on Monday that the DSS had extended its ongoing probe of the arrested judiciary chiefs to the asset declaration forms they submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

The DSS had said it was getting the cooperation of the Federal Ministry of Justice in its ongoing probe of the judges.

Credible sources in the ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the probe, confirmed to The PUNCH that the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation was involved in the ongoing investigation.