According to SR, they’ve obtained a full list of top
Nigerian judges under investigation by security
agencies across the country. The list is contained in
a confidential memo forwarded to President
Muhammadu Buhari on a recent dramatic move by
agents of the Department of State Security (DSS)
against judges accused of accepting bribes as well
as other acts of corruption.
The judges named in the confidential list sent to
President Buhari are:
Justices Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta and John Inyang
Okoro of the Supreme Court, Justice Muhammad
Ladan Tsamiya of Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division,
Justice Uwani Abba-Aji of the Court of Appeal,
Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court,
Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal high Court,
Justice Kabir Auta of the Kano State High Court,
Justice Munir Ladan of the Kaduna State High Court,
Justice Bashir Sukola of the Kaduna State High
Court, and Justice Mu’azu Pindiga of Gombe State
High Court.
Other high profile judges named in the confidential
memo include:
Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, the current President of
the Court of Appeal, Justice Ibrahim Auta, the Chief
Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul
Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Justice Nnamdi
Dimgba and Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal
High Court.
The memo accused Justice Chikere of receiving cash
for a pre-election matter that came before her.
Justice Chikere is married to Kenneth Anayo Chikere,
a chieftain the (PDP) in Rivers State and a former
member of the House of Reps. According to the
source of the memo, Mr. Chikere acted as go-between
to funnel significant amounts of cash to his wife who
then proceeded to give favorable judgments to those
who offered the cash.
The memo alleged that Justice Kabiru Auta collected
bribes from a businessman named “Alhaji Kabiru
SKY.” The bribe scandal led the National Judicial
Council (NJC) to suspend the judge, but the council
later recalled the judge, claiming there was not
sufficient evidence that he auctioned verdicts from
the bench.
Justice Abdul Kafarati has a litany of corruption
allegations against him, even though he is due to
become the new Chief Judge of the Federal High
Court. Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) allegedly found more than N2
billion in the judge’s bank account. The judge
reportedly claimed he had earned the funds from his
farming business in Yobe State. Recently, Justice
Kafarati granted a N26 billion verdict in favor of
Capital Oil CEO, Ifeanyi Uba, against the Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). Mr.
Uba was the biggest debtor to AMCON. The memo
stated that Justice Kafarati has a favorite lawyer,
Prince Ajibola Oluyede, who funnels bribes to him to
grant illegal orders and pay-to-play judgments.
Justice Yunusa also faces several allegations of
corruption. The memo cited evidence that he took N5
million bribe from a senior lawyer, Rickey Tarfa.
Justice Yunusa is also accused of disregarding case
precedents set by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Justice Pindiga of the Gombe State High Court was
thrust into national prominence on account of his
involvement in the Rivers State election petition
fraud. He reportedly received N100 million from
Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State to influence a
tribunal ruling in the governor’s favor . The judge was
subsequently removed as the head of the tribunal,
but he reportedly bought several cars and built
houses from the proceeds of his alleged corruption.
Justices Munir Ladan and Bashir Suokla of the
Kaduna High Court were recommended for arrest and
prosecution based on several petitions alleging that
they receive bribes in exchange for verdicts. Some
lawyers reportedly characterized the two judges as
“cash-and-carry” judges.
Some of the most extensive allegations in the memo
pertain to Justice Adeniyi Ademola. In one instance,
the judge allegedly accepted a $200k bribe to
discharge a garnishee order against the Delta State
House of Assembly. He was also accused of using
his position as a judge to get his wife appointed to
the position of Head of Service in Lagos State. In
2010, the Cross Rivers State command of the DSS
determined that Justice Ademola had accepted a
bribe from some members of the “Peace Corps of
Nigeria” and oil bunkerers under prosecution.
Justice Ademola was arrested last weekend and
allegedly found to be in possession of $550k, part of
which he reportedly claimed belonged to Justice
Auta, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
Justice Ademola was also allegedly found with two
unlicensed Pump Action Rifles in his Abuja home.
The judge has claimed that his ordeal was because
he once tried current Attorney General of the
Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), for professional
misconduct when he was a judge in Kaduna. He has
accused Mr. Malami of being behind his harassment,
adding that the raid on his residence was a part of a
retaliation plot by the AGF. The judge did not,
however, deny the fact that he was found with huge
cash at home.
Justice Ibrahim Auta of the Federal High Court faces
several allegations of misconduct, according to the
memo obtained by SaharaReporters. The accusations
against him include accepting bribes in order to
assign “lucrative” cases to certain corruption judges
who give him kickbacks. Numerous real estate assets
have been traced to him. In addition, law
enforcement agents allege that he once accepted
N500,000 from Mr. Rickey Tarfa.
Justice Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal is accused of
demanding N200 million from an interested party in
a case before his court. He was arrested last week
after the NJC determined that he was guilty of
demanding for bribes.
Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, president of the Court of
Appeal, is named in the memo where she is described
as incurably corrupt and stupendously wealthy . Even
though agents found that Justice Bulkachuwa
abstained from taking bribes in the Rivers State
election case, she is accused of engaging in bribery
and taking kickbacks from judges to which she
assigned “lucrative” cases.
Justice Abba Aji reportedly received N8million from
Mr Tarfa. SR learned that she was dropped from the
list of judges recommended for elevation to Supreme
Court on account of her implication in the Tarfa bribe
scandal.
In addition, Justice Bulkachuwa is alleged to have
taken bribes from former Governor Godswill Akpabio
of Akwa Ibom and Governor Patrick Okowa of Delta
State in order to facilitate favorable judgment in
election petitions.
The two justices of the Supreme Court, Ngwuta and
Okoro, allegedly received significant bribes from
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. Security
agents allege that Mr. Wike gave the two judges N5
billion to ensure that other Supreme Court justices
ruled in the governor’s favor in a final election
petition at the Supreme Court.
SR had earlier reported that Justice Mary Odili of the
Supreme Court played a role in the Wike case.
Justice Odili reportedly wept in front of her
colleagues, claiming that her husband, former
Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State, would die
prematurely if Mr. Wike’s election was not upheld.
Justice Odili reportedly coordinated the bribe scheme
with Justice Ngwuta, who allegedly took delivery of
some of the bribe in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Justice Walter Onnoghen, the nominee for the post of
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, is alleged to
have taken part in the Wike bribe scandal. However,
security agents decided not to go after him, telling
President Buhari that the backlash would be intense
if Justicr Onnoghen, a southerner, were bypassed for
CJN as the next person after him is a northerner.
Justices Ngwuta and Okoro were also named in the
case of Akwa Ibom where the governor is alleged to
have disbursed a huge amount of money to bribe
Supreme Court justices to secure a favorable ruling.
A senior lawyer, Damian Dodo (SAN) reportedly
facilitated the deal using a female in his chambers
whose name was given as “Kauma”. The Akwa Ibom
governor paid the highest bribe to the Supreme Court
justices.
Both justices were among judges arrested last week
in late night raids carried out by the DSS. Security
agents claimed that Justices Ngwuta and Okoro were
found with stashes of foreign currency at their
homes. Both justices have since been released.
Other judges mentioned in the memo include Justices
I. A. Umezulike, who two weeks ago was retired by
NJC, Ibrahim Buba, Rita Ajumogobia and an
unnamed judge of Lagos State High Court.
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