The Federal Government is reported to have approved the prosecution of some of the Judges recently arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, over alleged corruption.
The DSS had invaded the homes of some judges across the country between the late hours of October 7 and the early hours of October 8, 2016.
Those arrested include: Justice John Iyang Okoro and Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court; Justice Nnamdi Dimgba and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja; Kabiru Auta, Federal High Court, Kano; Muazu Pindiga, Federal High Court, Gombe; and a former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Innocent Umezulike.
However, a source from the Presidency said that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has approved the immediate prosecution of some of the Judges, adding that the trial would be carried out in phases and handled by the National Prosecution Council, NPC, which was recently inaugurated.
On the nature of the charges, the top official in the Presidency said, “The charges are generally for corruption, with an isolated case of illegal possession of firearms to be pressed against one of the Judges.
“The firearms were recovered from the home of one of the suspects by the DSS during the nocturnal raid on October 7, a development that had sparked national outrage.
“I can tell you that the National Prosecution Council will lead the prosecution of the suspects, while the Director of Public Prosecution in the Federal Ministry of Justice will coordinate the team.
“The charges were cleared from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation only yesterday and the suspects are certainly going to be charged to court any moment from now. The Federal Government is not deterred by the refusal of the National Judicial Council to suspend the suspects from office.”
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