Group accuses lawyers of ‘spoiling’ judges with bribes, urges NBA to ‘learn from Ghana and support Buhari’s anti-corruption war’

A socio-political group, Nigeria Must Rise Again (NMRA), on Saturday, accused lawyers of contributing to the rot in the judiciary.
Speaking against the background of the arrest of some judges by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the early hours of the day, the group, in a statement by the President, Chidi Macaulay, said “if Nigeria misses this opportunity to deal with corruption decisively, then this country is doomed”
“We are very disappointed in the press conference by the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), criticising the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to fight corruption and remove the virus from this country. Why should the NBA organise a press conference and defend judges who were arrested with millions of naira and foreign currencies in their residences? What sort of country is this?
“Well, we are not surprised because there is no way judges will be corrupt without the involvement of lawyers. They (lawyers) are the ones who collect bribe money to spoil judges. Now, the chicken has come home to roost”, said the statement.
Going down memory lane, NMRA recalled that in 2015, 34 Ghanaian judges, including 22 Lower Court and 12 High Court judges, were caught on video asking for bribe.
“This triggered widespread anger across Ghana, and no professional lawyers’ body declared a phantom state of emergency or issued some puerile threats as the NBA has done after some Nigerian judges, including those of the Supreme Court, were caught with huge sums of money in various currencies.
“In a matter of weeks, 20 of the 22 Lower Court judges were sent packing. That’s Ghana. Now back to Nigeria. If Supreme Court Justices could be involved in this cashgate nonsense, what will happen to the judges of the lower courts? And why would a self-respecting body not wait for the full details to emerge before issuing threats? Are judges above the law?”
During the press conference at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, the NBA warned DSS to release the judges or face dire consequences.
The position of the Bar was read by the President, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN).
The body also declared a state of emergency in the judiciary, following the midnight arrest of the judges.
With Mahmoud at the press conference were four former presidents of the association – Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN); Mr. J.B. Daudu (SAN) and Augustine Alegeh (SAN).
Also in attendance were Prof. Kayinsola Ajayi (SAN), Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN), Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN) and others.
Mahmoud, who said it was not the responsibility of the DSS to arrest judges, described the action as an unconstitutional means of intimidating the judiciary and undermining its independence.
“I want to, on behalf of the association, make the very following clear and unequivocal demands: we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all the judges abducted from about 9pm yesterday (Friday).
“The release must be done immediately and without any conditions. Two, we demand that the Department of State Services should limit itself to its statutory and constitutional responsibilities. I’ll be meeting with the CJN later tonight or tomorrow. There will be consequences if these demands are not met.”