Nigerians demand dismissal of judges

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (right) poses on October 19, 2016 after meeting with the 21 Chibok girls who were released by Boko Haram. 82 more girls were released on May 6, 2017 in prisoner swap. PHOTO | NAFP

What you need to know:

  • DSS operatives stormed Justice Ademola’s home and those of six other judges on October 7-8 in search of incriminating documents.

ABUJA

Mobs took over the streets of Nigeria’s capital Abuja and occupied the Supreme Court to protest against corruption in the Judiciary.

The protesters marched to the Supreme Court demanding all judges arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) to step aside pending the outcome of their trials.

They accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) of supporting the “corrupt” judges.

The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Stop corruption before it stops you,” “Don’t get it twisted, Judiciary is not on trial, only corrupt officials are.”

NJC chairman Justice Mahmoud Mohammad, who is also the Chief Justice of Nigeria, had criticised police for arresting the judges.

All the judges were still sitting in their courts despite the public outrage.

One of them, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in whose home millions of naira were found, vowed not to leave office.

The judge, who presided over cases on Tuesday, advised parties before him to apply for transfers if they were not comfortable with him continuing their cases.

“As far as we are concerned, we have been asked to maintain our seats, so that is the position,” he said.

DSS operatives stormed Justice Ademola’s home and those of six other judges on October 7-8 in search of incriminating documents.

The NJC has said the call by Nigerian Bar Association President Mahmoud Abubakar for the suspension of the seven judges was “unacceptable”.