The Senate on Tuesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call all security agencies to order and direct the full observance of the rule of law in the discharge of their duties.

The call came after deliberation of a motion by Sen. Joshua Lidani (Gombe South) condemning the action of the Department of State Service in the arrest of some judges across the country last weekend.

The DSS operatives had on Saturday arrested Justice John Okoro and Justice Sylvester Nguta, both of the Supreme Court; former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Innocent Umezulike; Justice Namdi Dimgba and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Others were Justice Kabiru Auta from Kano judiciary and Muazu Pindiga of Federal High Court, Gombe.

The judges were released on bail late Sunday on self-recognition.

In the motion, Lidani prayed the senate to summon the Director of the DSS, Lawal Daura, to brief it on the issue.

This call failed as the lawmakers voted against it after three voice vote sessions.

Sen. Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North) said that the action of the security operatives was wrong and would go a long way to give the nation a bad name in the international community.

He said that it was condemnable to invade the house of any Nigerian, let alone serving judges.

He said, “This should not have happened even under an unguarded dictatorship, let alone a democracy; enough is now more than enough.”

In his contribution, Deputy Majority Leader, Ibn Na’Allah, said that Nigerians supported the change agenda because of the promise to fight corruption.

He said that the senate was committed to supporting the Federal Government to fight corruption, but stressed that it must be done within the ambit of the law.

Na’Allah said the NJC should have been left to do its job and the senate should be careful in condemning the DSS.

For Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Minority Leader of the Senate, the nation should not destroy the principles of separation of power.

He said, “We know there is separation of power; we must bear in mind the need for the survival of democracy and our perception in the international community.

“We must be careful of the kind of image we give to the judiciary; it is difficult for a former governor to be respected outside this country because everybody believes that all former governors are thieves.

“If we carry that toga, everybody will lose confidence in the judiciary.

“Even if there is corruption, it should be handled carefully so that it does not jeopardise internal security.”

In all, the red chamber condemned the actions of the DSS, and said that they went against the rule of law of the land.

It mandated its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to review all existing laws that deal with the security agencies and bring them in line with the tenets of democracy.

The committee was charged to report back in four weeks.

Although the upper chamber expressed support to Federal Government’s anti-corruption fight, it said it was wrong for DSS to have carried out the arrest with conferring with the NJC.

It noted that the NJC is statutorily responsible for disciplining judges and other judicial workers.

In his remark, the President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, said that the chamber was totally in support of the fight against corruption, especially in the judicial system.

He said, “We must eradicate corruption in all spheres of our society and this is a matter that we must pursue.

“I think the National Assembly has been playing its role to continue to support government in the fight against corruption.

“We must ensure that this fight against corruption is within the rule of law; any act of anti-corruption that goes against the rule of law does not help the corruption fight.

“That is why this action has been seen in this manner, and it is condemned by the Senate and all agencies of government must ensure that they act within the rule of law.”

NAN

http://punchng.com/judges-arrest-caution-security-agencies-senate-tells-buhari/

Our democracy is at threat by corrupt lawyers!!! Nigerians shine your eyes. They are using our democratic institutions to protect their selfish professional interests. Lawyers are just a single professional group in the country, this is the time other professional groups should wake up!!
They criminally hijacked the third arm of government now they are using the platform of another arm to push and protect their selfish professional interest and other professionals and non professional senators in the Senate are watching like mumu.

See the list of those advising government not to arrest corrupt judges

[size=18pt]Sen. Joshua Lidani (Gombe South) Lawyer ,ABU trained

Sen. Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North) ,Lawyer, UNN trained


Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Minority Leader of the Senate,Lawyer


Deputy Majority Leader, Ibn Na’Allah : Lawyer
[/size]

Corrupt Nigerian lawyers have hijacked our democracy!!!
Our hard worn democracy is at threat and we must recover our democracy from corrupt lawyers

Nigerians should wake up. Where are the sociologists, social scientists, criminologists,political scientists, engineers, pharmacists,architects,accountants,farmers,ASUU,NLC, etc.
Save our democracy before corrupt lawyers kill our democracy!!

When you have a dictator in power, what more is expected?.

herbie27:
When you have a dictator in power, what more is expected?.

I'm sure you know that what you typed has no correlation with the age long corruption in the judiciary and the deceit of lawyers using our democratic institutions to protect and push for what is purely their professional interests. We're not going to allow just a professional group to hijack our democracy. The same thing played out in the power sector before the error in the appointment was rectified recently. About 5 or seven out of the 9 member National Electricity Regulation Council were made up of lawyers, the leader of the economic team, the minister of budget planning, minister of housing are lawyers and they are almost all flops because they are in the wrong offices yet other professionals look on as if they're not stakeholders in the country.
There is fire on the mountain!!!

onomeasike:
See the list of those advising government not to arrest corrupt judges

[size=18pt]Sen. Joshua Lidani (Gombe South) Lawyer ,ABU trained

Sen. Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North) ,Lawyer, UNN trained


Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Minority Leader of the Senate,Lawyer


Deputy Majority Leader, Ibn Na’Allah : Lawyer
[/size]

Corrupt Nigerian lawyers have hijacked our democracy!!!
Our hard worn democracy is at threat and we must recover our democracy from corrupt lawyers

Nigerians should wake up. Where are the sociologists, social scientists, criminologists,political scientists, engineers, pharmacists,architects,accountants,farmers,ASUU,NLC, etc.
Save our democracy before corrupt lawyers kill our democracy!!

onomeasike:
Our democracy is at threat by corrupt lawyers!!! Nigerians shine your eyes. They are using our democratic institutions to protect their selfish professional interests. Lawyers are just a single professional group in the country, this is the time other professional groups should wake up!!
They criminally hijacked the third arm of government now they are using the platform of another arm to push and protect their selfish professional interest and other professionals and non professional senators in the Senate are watching like mumu.

From what you wrote after bringing this news forward shows you're a dictator in the making.

Hope you know we have 3 arms of government, and there's separation of powers between them to avoid dictatorship or tyranny, constitutionally none is made to take up the responsibilities of the other and that's why they've been calling on your dictator brother Buhari to respect "the rule of laws of the land", but unfortunately people like you who don't respect what's stated in the constitution will support his acts.

Even if they're corrupt, it's not his legal rights to arrest them, it's the duty of NJC.

onomeasike:

I'm sure you know that what you typed has no correlation with the age long corruption in the judiciary and the deceit of lawyers using our democratic institutions to protect and push for what is purely their professional interests. We're not going to allow just a professional group to hijack our democracy. The same thing played out in the power sector before the error in the appointment was rectified recently. About 5 or seven out of the 9 member National Electricity Regulation Council were made up of lawyers, the leader of the economic team, the minister of budget planning, minister of housing are lawyers and they are almost all flops because they are in the wrong offices yet other professionals look on as if they're not stakeholders in the country.
There is fire on the mountain!!!

Don't make yourself a laughing stock.
Were they arrested because they're serving at the wrong places?, like you haven't seen an engineer counting currencies in Bank counters.
Speak base on the topic for discussion, not base on your grievances with Lawyers.

I concur

herbie27:
From what you wrote after bringing this news forward shows you're a dictator in the making.

Hope you know we have 3 arms of government, and there's separation of powers between them to avoid dictatorship or tyranny, constitutionally none is made to take up the responsibilities of the other and that's why they've been calling on your dictator brother Buhari to respect "the rule of laws of the land", but unfortunately people like you who don't respect what's stated in the constitution will support his acts.

[size=18pt]Even if they're corrupt, it's not his legal rights to arrest them, it's the duty of NJC[/size].

That's a lie from the pit of hell. NJC as presently constituted is a 'technical'interest group of the NBA. It's role is administrative it's job is not to arrest criminals.
Stop this falsehood.

onomeasike:


That's a lie from the pit of hell. NJC as presently constituted is a 'technical'interest group of the NBA. It's role is administrative it's job is not to arrest criminals.
Stop this falsehood.

Read what i wrote again, before mentioning me.
Didn't say they arrest criminals, but they're in the right position to over see the affairs of the judges.

herbie27:
Don't make yourself a laughing stock.
Were they arrested because they're serving at the wrong places?, like you haven't seen an engineer counting currencies in Bank counters.
Speak base on the topic for discussion, not base on your grievances with Lawyers.

You are already the laughing stock because Nigerians unanimously supported the arrest and prosecution of the judges. The next phase is to recover our democratic institutions from the corrupt lawyers and I mean the corrupt ones. There's a new dawn!! NJC has presently constituted is a "technical interest/pressure group of the NBA!!

herbie27:
Read what i wrote again, before mentioning me.
Didn't say they arrest criminals, but they're in the right position to [size=18pt]over see the affairs of the judges.[/size]

In the discharge of their legitimate professional duties. Once they cross the border line of decency, like all other professionals,they lose all privileges. Nothing makes it special because they are professional judges. The problem is that there's a dubious attempt to equate an assemblage of lawyers as the third arm of government. NJC is just a fraction of the judiciary if you consider how its presently constituted. It's lawyers talking to fellow lawyers. The atmosphere will place professional camaraderie of lawyers over the interest of the nation. That's why the Chief Justice has only seen the crisis as an attack on his professional group he has not seen the collateral damage his professional colleagues have done to the nation. How we were foolish enough to abandon a whole arm of government to just one professional group is the grave mistake I seek that we correct. It's never done anywhere in the world. Citizens should recover their judiciary arm of government from lawyers before they kill our democracy!!