AFENIFERE, a Yoruba socio-Political group, Wednesday, asked that the ministers fingered by the judges recently accused of corruption should step aside and go through due process of the law to either ascertain their innocence.
This is coming as the group equally asked the National Judicial commission NJC ” to ensure that all allegations against the judges are thoroughly investigated and those who are find guilty should be dealt with accordingly.
Rising from its monthly meeting held in Akure, the Country home of its National Chairman Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the group declared that a “corrupt judge is worst than a thief and what is on offer is justice and that negate the soul of any society.
“So we cannot be saying only judges that have accused should be investigated. Ministers too, who have been accused should step aside and face prosecution.
The spokesman of the group, Yinka Odumakin in a communique issued after the meeting however expressed worries over the modus operandi of the actions against these judges.
”We believe that is not the duty of DSS to investigate corruption.
“Investigating corruption is within the purview of the EFCC, ICPC and the Police and if the DSS come across of any crime that borders on corruption, it is to gathered their evidences and handover to those agencies of government to ensure that they investigate and prosecute those who are involved in the offence.
“So, we frown at raiding the home of judges, braking down doors at ungodly hours of the night reserve for armed robbers in the name of fighting corruption.
“For anybody to go to anybody home around 1:AM, and say am DSS in a country where the wife of CBN governor was kidnapped by soldiers , it beyond it .
“Therefore, we frown at going to their homes at night and in an attempt to pull a wool over the eyes of Nigerians, the DSS said, it was involved in a sting operations.
“They are teaching us new words in English. A stings operation is that somebody is in the act of committing a crime, the state security organised to ensure that the person is caught in the act perhaps with those evidence planted.
“But to say that somebody collected bribe in Ghana months ago and you are now breaking the doors of his house months after in Abuja and said that is a stings operation, they should not teach our children bad words.
“That is not a sting operation. That is an attempt to cover-up the mistake they made in the unfortunate raids of the judges home.
The group said that “We also believed as Afenifere, that the judges are not above the laws of the land just because they are judges.
“If a judge is going to airport and put cocaine in his bag , if he is arrested by the NDLEA , he goes in for trial. If a judge import contraband into the country and custom arrest him , is not a judge, is a citizen.
“But for offences committed by judges in course of their duty ,is the NJC that law said it should deal with them and not DSS or any other agencies.
The group commended the Chief Judge of Nigeria CJN for boldly rising in the defence of separation of powers .
“For the ministers who have been mentioned for attempting to pervert the course of justice , we are asking that such minister should step aside immediately as minister of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“After that, they should go through due process of the law to either ascertain their innocence or if their guilty established, they should be punish according to the laws of the land .
