Skip to main content

Suspended ministers accused of corruption, PDP tells Buhari

PDP-logo

PDP-logo

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to emulate the judiciary by asking ministers accused of corruption to step aside for proper investigation.

The party made the call in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Dayo Adeyeye, on Friday in Abuja.

Adeyeye recalled that the National Judicial Council (NJC) had on Thursday announced its decision to suspend justices facing corruption charges.

The justices are Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court, Mohammed Tsamiya, Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division and Kabiru Auta of Kano State High Court.

Others are Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja; Justice I. A. Umezulike, former Chief Judge of Enugu state and Muazu Pindiga of Federal High Court, Gombe.

Adeyeye pointed out that Justices Ngwuta and Okoro had alleged that they were the targets of a witch-hunt because they refused offers of inducement and bribes from two ministers.

They had named them as Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi and his Science and Technology counterpart, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu.

He said that the ministers allegedly tried to offer bribe to the judges to subvert the course of justice in appeals against the decisions of lower courts in election petitions in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Rivers.

“In order to allow for a fair and independent investigation, it is incumbent on President Muhammadu Buhari to ask these ministers to step aside pending the conclusion of investigation into the allegations.

“The judiciary has set a very good example in its quest to fight corruption.

“It has proven that it is ready to reform itself and we commend the NJC for taking this bold step.

“Likewise, we call on the administration of the president to emulate the NJC,’’ he said, adding that anything less would confirm the belief that the administration considered itself as “above the law’’.

Adeyeye added that it would be a wrong signal if the ministers were retained in the face of the serious allegations against them.

According to him, if such action is not taken, it will imply that the entire judicial corruption saga was a deliberate attempt to blackmail that arm of government.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...