By Frank P. Ujuh
The anti-corruption
war is getting messier everyday with some startling revelations. After the
Department of State Services (DSS) sting operation on some judges in the
country and government’s explanation over what most Nigerians regarded as an
attack on the judiciary, some of the judges have started dishing out their own
side of the story.
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| Rotimi Amaechi and President Buhari |
First to throw the
salvo was one of the arrested Justices of the Supreme Court, Justice John
Inyang Okoro. Justice Okoro had in a letter to the National Judicial Council
(NJC) alleged that his refusal to do the bidding of the Transportation
Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, over election matters in Akwa Ibom, Abia and Rivers
states is the source of his travails.
According to
Justice Okoro, “My Lord, I strongly believe that this my travail is not
unconnected with the verbal report I made to you on February 1, 2016 about the
visit to my official residence by Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers
State and now Minister of Transport. In that report, I told you my lord,
that Amaechi said that the president of Nigeria
and the APC mandated him to inform me that they must win their appeals in
respect of Rivers State , Akwa Ibom State
and Abia State
However, Amaechi’s
media aide, David Iyofo, has denied the allegation. He said that “This
accusation from Justice Okoro against Amaechi is a figment of his imagination,
concocted to obfuscate and politicize the real issues for his arrest and the
DSS investigation of allegations of corruption against him.
"The claims by
Justice Okoro against Amaechi are blatant lies, bereft of any iota of truth or
even logic. Amaechi did not, and has never approached Justice Okoro in respect
of the cases Okoro mentioned or any other case. This is a cheap attempt,
albeit, political move to drag the name of Amaechi into something he knows
nothing about. Justice Okoro should face his issues and leave Amaechi out of
it.”
When the dust
raised by Okoro’s allegation is not yet settled, another Supreme Court Judge,
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta came up with another weighty allegation of corruption
against Amaechi and the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu
over election matters. Justice Ngwuta had in a letter addressed to the Chief
Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, explained that his problem dated
back to 2014 when Amaechi approached him to set aside Ayo Fayose’s election in
order to make way for the former governor of Ekiti State and now Minister of
Solid Mineral, Kayode Fayemi.
According to Ngwuta, “My present plight started sometime
between 2013 and 2014. I represented the then Chief Justice of Nigeria
 |
| *Dr Ogbonnaya Onu and President Muhammadu Buhari |
Justice Ngwuta also
alleged that a former governor of Abia
State , Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu contacted him
to help sway the Court of Appeal’s decision on Ebonyi State
In the same vein,
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has denied the bribery allegation by Ngwuta. According to
Onu, “ I am astonished that Justice
Ngwuta made such statements against my humble self, especially considering that
he is my brother, friend and long standing associate of almost three decades.”
Onu further pointed
out that “I have labored with other
compatriots to strengthen the depth and reach of participatory democracy in our
beloved country. in doing so, I am conscious of the essence of the rule of law
as a vital component of true and enduring democracy and the important need to
treasure, protect and defend it at all times. Even as a student, teacher,
engineer and administrator, I have always worked tirelessly to uphold the rule
of law.”
Despite the
spirited denials by the two ministers, the allegations made by Justices Okoro
and Ngwuta against Rotimi Amaechi and Ogbonnaya Onu are too weighty to be
dismissed with a wave of the hand. The aim of the fight against corruption will
be utterly defeated if these allegations are not thoroughly investigated. In
fact, the relevant investigative organs should wade into the matter without any
further delay.
The investigation
has become necessary considering the fact that the allegations border on bribing
judges against election petition matters, especially those in Akwa Ibom,
Rivers, Abia, Ekiti and Ebonyi states. It is worrisome that all the states
concerned in these allegations are in the hands of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and those named in the bribery allegations are chieftains of the ruling
All Progressives Congress (APC).
While we hold those
mentioned in the allegations innocent until the contrary is proved, we call for
urgent investigation of the sundry bribery allegations against the serving
ministers of this administration. It is in the interest of the ministers that
the matter is investigated.
For the
investigation to be thorough, the two ministers must step aside. Since the Vice
President, Yemi Osinbajo has affirmed that corruption is in all arms of
government, the fight against corruption should be extended to those involved
in the executive arm. Much of that had been the lot of the legislature and
recently of the judiciary.
The Federal
Government should not bury this matter under the carpet. This matter should not
be treated like a family affair. Since these allegations have been brought to
the public domain by the Supreme Court Justices, they deserve to be
investigated. To do otherwise will jeopardize the current anti-corruption agenda
of the present administration.
Every person
accused of corruption must be thoroughly investigated and there should be no
cover up of any kind. Nigerians are watching to see this happen. It will be
recalled that the anti-graft war of the present dispensation has been accused
of being selective and political. Nigerians want a departure from such posture.
Let all corruption allegations against those in power also be investigated.
Ujuh writes from
Abuja
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