A Bauchi-based legal practitioner, Barr. Abdull Malle, has described
as “hasty”, the reaction of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) over the
crackdown on some judges by the Department of State Security Service
(SSS).
In an interview in Bauchi on Monday, Malle said the association ought
to have taken its time to study the situation carefully before
threating the authorities on the issue.
He said although judges were protected within the confines of their
duty-post, they could be investigated on behaviours that ran foul of the
law, once due process was followed.
According to him, if the investigating authority has been granted
search permit by a court of competent jurisdiction, the action of such
authority is covered by law.
He therefore advised that the matter be treated with caution in view
of its sensitive nature and implication on the image of the Judiciary.
Meanwhile, some residents of Bauchi, Gombe and Yola have hailed the
action taken by the Department of Security Services in cracking down on
suspected corrupt judges. They said that the anti-corruption drive of
the Federal Government should be ‘all embracing’.
They said that with the trial of some members of the National
Assembly and the current move on the suspected judges, it had become
clear that there could be no ‘sacred cows’ in the anti-corruption
crusade.
According to them, such move will clear all doubts in the minds of
some people about the nobble intention of the present administration to
rid the country of corruption.
Malam Usman Aliyu, a civil servant with Bauchi state government, said the measure had made him to have faith in the exercise.
“In the past, the war was just a sweet melody without action; no big
fish was ever caught in the net but the story is different today”, he
said.
He urged the antigraft agencies to disregard the threat of the
Nigeria Bar Association on the matter, describing their action as
selfish.
Timothy Abraham, a businessman in Bauchi, noted that the recent
clampdown on judges confirmed an earlier complaint by President Buhari
that his major headache as far as the anti-corruption fight was
concerned, was the Judiciary.
He said any attempt by an individuals or association to scuttle the
crusade should be viewed seriously by all well-meaning Nigerians.
He however advised that due process be followed in bringing culprits
to justice so as not to give room for any complaints from people with
vested interests.
Another resident of Bauchi, Aliyu Bala, a federal civil servant,
noted that the sectors considered as ‘untouchable’ had so far been
‘touched’, as such the anti-graft war was on the right course.
“There should be no hiding place for any person, no matter his
personality or association; what is happening today gladdens my heart.
“Anybody that is not happy or tries to become a stumbling block,
means he or she encourages corruption; it is left for Nigerians to know
how to handle him,” he said.
In Gombe, Alhaji Mohammad Wayas, North East Zonal Chairman of Human
Rrights Coalition, a non-governmental organization, said that the
Federal government was moving in the right direction. According to him,
the Judges arrested are not above the law, hence the need for the
government to handle them accordingly to serve as lesson to others.
Malam Abubakar Ibrahim, another Gombe resident and a civil servant,
urged the Federal government to ignore any threat and ensure that
justice was done in the case.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for taking the anti-graft
fight to the door-steps of individuals considered as ‘untouchable’ in
the past.
Malam Muazu Umar, another Gombe resident, expressed dismay over the
threat of the NBA and called for thorough screening of legal
practitioners with doubtful character.
In Yola, cross section of commercial drivers and cyclists who spoke
to NAN said they were in support of Federal Government’s move to cleanse
the Judiciary of bad eggs.
“I am in full support of the move to sanitize the Judiciary and there should be no scared cow.
“If politicians and military men are being arrested for corruption, Judges should not be excluded,” Musa Habu, a driver said.
Habibu Danjuma and Kabiru Mubi, tricycle operators, also declared
support for the arrest of the Judges, saying the measure had gone a long
way in convincing Nigerians that the Buhari administration was
committed to the anti-graft war.
“It’s now that I am convinced that Buhari is committed to fighting
corruption; we are with him on this; we voted for him for such change,”
Danjuma said.
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