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Trip To Idi Amin’s Uganda …Of Attacks On Unfriendly Judges
Last Saturday morning, Nigerians woke up to the news that a detachment of heavily armed men of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and the Police attempted to abduct a Federal High Court Judge resident in Port Harcourt. And that in a bid to defend the embattled Judge, Rivers State Executive Governor, Nyesom Wike was manhandled by the assailants.
Many considered the news unbelievable, because judges belong to the third arm of government, the Judiciary which has its own code of conduct and ethics. Corrupt and undisciplined judges are a responsibility of the National Judicial Council (NJC) which reserves the right to investigate and punish such erring judges.
In performance of that duty, the NJC recently retired and sacked some judges and opened investigation into the background of Judges who gave conflicting judgements on same issues, with a view to ascertaining their level of compromise.
This is why it came to many as a huge shock that the DSS and the Police, all part of the executive arm could launch such affront on a sitting judge without recourse to the NJC for proper trial.
This kind of Gestapo-stuff attack, many thought ended with the Idi Amin’s Uganda and should not be repeated, especially in a democratic Nigeria. Many think this may be an unfriendly judge, who the powers that be want to teach a lesson, same lesson daily thought opposition politicians in the name of fighting corruption.
Among victims are Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, (PDP), Ex-Minister Godsday Orubebe, (PDP), former Chief Security Adivser (CSA), Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) PDP, among several others. Interestingly, none of the former State governors who jumped ship to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the PDP has been investigated, despite the many petitions against them.
What that translates to is that no matter how dark a governor’s sins may be, once we defects to the ruling APC his past is wiped clean. He is a new creature fit for eternal life. A life without probes and that of impunity.
Is this the democracy that ushered an opposition party in governance for the first time in the history of Nigeria? Or is it another Military rule, where perceived enemies are incarcerated at will by the powers that be?
Whither the civil society organizations? Whither the civil rights activists? Whither vocal Nigerians who badmouthed the former government to its grave?
On our last check, only the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has spoken against the arrest of two other judges after Saturday’s midnight invasion of their homes. The NBA declared a state of emergency in the Judiciary and asked President Muhammadu Buhari to order the immediate release of the affected judges or there would be consequences”.
Addressing newsmen alongside four former Presidents of the NBA, President Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) said two Supreme Court Justices Iyang Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta were “abducted”, with their families, adding that he had yet to have full details of other judges who could have been involved.
Mahmoud said NBA condemned what it termed the Gestapo-style operation of the DSS and announced the constitution of an emergency or crisis management team comprising past presidents to engage the government.
Mahmoud, according to the Vanguard said, it was not the responsibility of the DSS to arrest judges and described the DSS action as an unconstitutional means of intimidating the Judiciary and undermining its independence.
“I want to emphasise again that we are not under military rule and we cannot accept this unholy event and Gestapo-style operation”, Mahmoud warned.
According to him, “Any issues affecting the Judicial officers, there are established procedures of handling them and we demand that this constitutional process be obeyed”, and demanded the immediate release of the affected Judges.
“The release must be done immediately and without any conditions. Two, we demand that the Department of State Services (DSS) should limit itself to its statutory and constitutional responsibilities”, Mahmoud said, adding, “I’ll be meeting with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) tonight or tomorrow. There will be consequences should these demands are not met”.
But wait! Who ordered the arrest of the judges? Who tried and found them guilty? If they are yet to be tried, who would try them? The executive?
What are the consequences of this siege on an arm of government, as important as the Judiciary, believed to be the last hope of the common man?
An attack on the Judiciary is not merely an attack on Lawyers and Judges, it is indeed an attack against civilization, democracy and the rule of law. It is infact, a siege on the Nigerian people.
The immediate consequence of the action will be to intimidate incorrigible judges to join the bandwagon and do only the bidding of the ruling party, or be arrested and assaulted. The other is to use the clampdown to enlist friendly judges who would, at all times, offer favourable judgments to the power that be.
Otherwise, what is the rationale behind the attacks on judges? If the executive arm discovers an action it considers corrupt and wishes such Judge be punished there are laid out constitutional provisions and not assume the role of a judge in its own case.
The Buhari administration needs to be reminded for the umpteenth time that this is not a military rule where the Head of State is the maximum ruler, prosecutor and judge at the same time. The administration must therefore submit itself to the rule of law and invest on democratic growth, because the recent attack on judicial officers is not only undemocratic, it is unnecessary, vexatious and primitive.
First, it was the use of the Code of Conduct Bureau to effect leadership change in the Senate by trying Senate President Bukola Saraki before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), over questions bordering on party discipline but tied to false declaration of assets.
The protracted case at some point pitched the entire National Assembly against the Executive. Infact, it is not yet Uhuru, as both the Federal government and the Senate seem to find themselves in a marriage of convenience, with each waiting for when the other would strike first.
This makes the attack on the Judiciary one too many. Its marks of military adventurism and has no place in a democracy. Corruption is a crime which punishment is adequately provided for in our statute books. Therefore, any war against corruption must be fought according to the law and not transport Nigeria back into history, when, might was right.
Political might, it must be emphasized, belongs to the people and must not be used against its owners.
This is what the military siege against officers of the judicial arm translates into- an abuse of the people’s power. Such must be avoided, same way Governor Wike intervened in the foiled attempt to abduct another judge.
My Agony is against one of the most annoying fallacies of the kind of federalism Nigeria operates, and which makes the Governor, Chief Security Officer (CSO) of his State, while infact the power is exercised randomly and at will by many others, on the orders of a single individual, not the CSO. Methinks State Police remains the only answer to the trip back to military rule.
Soye Wilson Jamabo
Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) of his administration’s commitment to supporting and strengthening the scheme in the State.
Fubara gave the assurance last Friday at the NYSC permanent orientation camp, Nonwa-Gbam, Tai Local Government Area in the State, during the swearing-in ceremony of 2026 Batch B Stream II orientation course.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Bureau, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Promise Oguzie, the governor said the State Government would remain intentional in providing the necessary support to improve the NYSC scheme and enhance the experiences of corps members deployed to the state.
He charged the corps members to be role models and quality nation-builders in their service to the good people of Rivers State in particular, and Nigeria at large.
“I charge you to be exemplary, dedicated and committed in all you do. Take full advantage of all the camp programmes and activities to enrich yourselves”, he said.
In his welcome address, the State Coordinator of NYSC in Rivers State, Mr. Moses Oleghe, urged corps members to see their deployment to Rivers State as a “veritable opportunity to make meaningful contribution to the growth of the State in particular and Nigeria at large.”
He further charged them to serve with all sense of “integrity, discipline, and the fear of God, especially when they will be engaged as INEC ad-hoc staff that will conduct the 2027 general elections.”
A total of 3,584 corps members composed of 1,421 males and 2,163 females were sworn in by the Chief Judge of Rivers State, who was represented by Justice Godspower Aguma.
Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, says Nigeria needs God-fearing leaders for the nation to move in the right direction and make meaningful progress.
The Governor stated this yesterday when he received in audience, the World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler; his wife, Andriene Marques Kohler; daughter Mariana Marques Kohler and a retinue of ministers of the church at Government House, Port Harcourt.
Fubara who hailed the Seventh Day Adventist Church for its contributions to education and the grooming of future leaders in Nigeria, expressed delight that the Church had over the years, been investing in education at various levels and currently runs two universities in the country.
He commended the church for not only using its institutions to spread the gospel of Christianity but to groom future leaders for the country.
According to him, religion should not be just about defending one’s faith, but also making meaningful impact on the lives of the people.
He said that by floating these educational institutions, the church has demonstrated capacity to support Nigeria in the task of producing not only educated people but a breed of God-fearing leaders.
“Our country is where it is today because we lack the fear of God. If you have the fear of God, there should be a limit to what you can do because you understand the supremacy of God. But when God is not in your equation, you’ll go beyond the line and that is what has brought us to where we are today.
“So, I feel very happy that you are contributing to the development of our future leaders in this country. We need the right people being in the right place; prepared properly with good minds; that is what we need, not just in Nigeria but round the whole world.,” he said.
Governor Fubara further observed that the absence of God-fearing people in high places to take the right decisions that could impact positively on the society, has also given rise to other problems such as social inequality, poverty, corruption and criminality. According to him, Nigeria needs a system where the average parent could afford quality education for their children and a guarantee that upon graduation, the average child will have the capacity to compete favourably with anybody, anywhere in the world.
“If we have a situation where the little money that you’re being paid as wage can also afford you quality healthcare and after working at least for 15-20 years, you have a roof over your head, tell me why you should be involved in any kind of crime? At that point, you’ll feel secured and this attitude of insecurity about the future that leads to all the social vices we have today won’t be there,” he said.
Governor Fubara expressed appreciation to the delegation for the visit and for their prayers for Rivers State, assuring them of his continued support for their programmes in the state.
Leader of the delegation and World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler said he was in Nigeria for a special conference of the church during which thousands of the church’s ministers will be undergoing an empowerment programme to further equip them for the task of herding their flocks and serving the society.
He expressed gratitude to the Governor for the warm reception accorded his entourage, saying the memory of the visit will linger in his mind for a lifetime.
Kohler disclosed that the Church has over twenty -four million (24,000,000) members and more than 182,000 places of worship, spread across 212 countries of the world.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has approved the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) submitted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
This reaffirms the lawmakers’ commitment to enacting laws and taking legislative actions geared towards the overall development of the State.
The Assembly gave the approval during its Second Legislative Sitting of the Fourth Session held last Friday.
Speaking on the MTEF document during plenary, the House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, noted that by the provision of Section 10(1)(b) of the Rivers State Fiscal Responsibility Law No. 8 of 2010, the MTEF ought to have been laid before the House in September 2025.
Amaewhule explained that traditionally, the document is expected to be presented four months before the commencement of the next financial year and immediately after the expiration of every three-year fiscal cycle.
He, however, stated that in the interest of the State and its people, the House considered it necessary to deliberate on the document, describing it as a precursor to the 2026 Budget Estimates.
The Speaker expressed concern that the year had already progressed significantly before the presentation of the framework.
During deliberations on the document, members examined the assumptions and projections contained in the MTEF and observed that strict adherence to the outlined fiscal parameters would ultimately serve the interest of Rivers people.
The lawmakers maintained that effective implementation of the framework would promote prudent financial management and enhance developmental planning across the State.
Following the debate and positive consideration by members, the Speaker put the question to the House and members voted overwhelmingly in support of the approval of the MTEF.
Meanwhile, during the same sitting last Friday, the House also received a petition from the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Dr. Gift Worlu.
The petition was presented by the member representing Obio/Akpor Constituency II, Hon. Emilia Amadi.
According to the petition, concerns were raised over an imminent security breach, threats to lives, destruction of property and alleged forceful takeover of property by some lawless persons within parts of the Local Government Area.
Presenting the petition before the House, Hon. Amadi appealed to the lawmakers to revisit the matter and take necessary steps aimed at safeguarding lives and property in the affected communities.
The House is expected to further deliberate on the petition and consider measures to address the concerns raised in order to sustain peace and security in the area.
King Onunwor
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