Arrested Judges: Lawyer Slams N50bn Suit On Buhari

Other defendants named in the suit are the Department of State Services (DSS) and its Director-General, Lawal Daura, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the National Judicial Council (NJC).

According to Ogungbeje, the clampdown and arrest, without recourse to the NJC, was unlawful and amounted to humiliating them.

Ogungbeje, who said that the DSS operation violated the rights of judges under sections 33, 34, 35, 36, and 41 of the 1999 Constitution, sought an order awarding N50 billion against the defendants as “general and exemplary damages’” and N2m be awarded as the cost of the suit.

He also sought an order compelling the DSS to return to the judges the sums of money recovered from them, while asking that the defendant be restrained from arresting, inviting, intimidating, or harrassing the judges with respect to the case.

Ogungbeje’s suit, which is restricted to five of the arrested judges namely, Justices Ngwuta, Okoro, Ademola, Pindiga and Dimgba, contended that the raid on the residences of the judges and their arrest was unconstitutional.

He stated in a 39-paragraph affidavit which he deposed to in support of the suit, “That the 1st (President Buhari), 2nd (DG of DSS), 3rd (DSS), 4th (AGF), and 5th (Inspector-General of Police) respondents against there is no petition by the affected to the 6th respondent (NJC).

“That the 6th respondent is the only body empowered by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to discipline judges and judicial officers in Nigeria.

“That the judiciary is an independent arm of government in Nigeria and separate from the executive and the legislature.

“That this illegal and unconstitutional action by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents have been roundly condemned by the Nigerian Bar Association.

“That the 2nd (DG of DSS), 3rd (DSS), and 5th (IGP) respondents carried out their action which brazenly infringed upon the rights of the affected five judges without lawful excuse or recourse to the 6th respondent.

“That the 2nd, 3rd and 4th(AGF) respondents have no right under the law and and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to discipline, infringe upon the rights of the affected judges.

“That due process of law has not been followed in the arrest, humiliation harassment and detention of the affected Judges by the armed agents and officers of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents

“That the affected judges have not committed any crime or wrong known to law to warrant their arrest, harassment, humiliation and detention, the forceful invasion and sieging of their residential houses and the forceful seizure and confiscation of their monies and properties without any court order.

“That due process of law were not followed and carried out by the 2nd, 3rd and 5th respondents before the arrest, humiliation, harassment, embarrassment, hounding, detention and forceful, seizure and confiscation of their monies.

“That the officials and agents of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th respondents have threatened and vowed to continue to use to use unconstitutional means to arrest, humiliate, harass, pillory, hound, intimidate, and detain Hon. Judges and judicial officers of superior courts in Nigeria without recourse to the 6th respondent as the constitutionally recognised body to discipline erring judges.”