Buhari, DSS, seek dismissal of suit to stop trial of judges
President Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged the powers of the Federal High Court, Abuja to stop the prosecution of judges accused of corrupt practices.
The President maintained that the high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain a suit filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, with a view to stopping the Federal Government from arraigning the seven judges arrested after a “sting operation” carried out by the officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) between October 7 and 8.
Challenging the competence of the suit, President Buhari, through a preliminary objection filed by his lawyer, Chiesonu Okpoko, argued that the plaintiff did not disclose his locus standi to initiate and maintain the suit.
He insisted that there was no case between the plaintiff and the respondents.
According to him, “the applicant’s suit as constituted and conceived was nothing more than a mere academic exercise and which raises hypothetical issues.”
The president also argued that before the plaintiff could invoke the judicial powers of the court as enshrined in section 6(6) (b) of the 1999 constitution, he must show how his civil rights and obligations were affected or would be affected by the act complained of.
Although seven judges were arrested, the plaintiff said he instituted the action on behalf of five of them who were still serving as at the time the action was commenced.
The judges include Justices Inyang Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court, Adeniyi Ademola and Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court Abuja, as well as Justice Muazu Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division.
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6 Comments
Let us get the correct definition of what a sting operation is. A sting operation is when a security agency sets up a person to be arrested while committing a crime. For instance a person demands bribe and the police is notified. The police gives marked notes to be given the person demanding bribe, and the man is arrested while receiving the bribe. When DeLorean the American inventor was desperately looking for money to rescue his dying car company, the FBI lured him to go into cocaine distribution to make fast money. He fell for the trap and was arrested while receiving the drugs. This is what is called sting operation. You don’t raid peoples’ houses on mere suspicion and call it sting operation. What DSS ought to have done is to set
up the judges and arrest them as they were being bribed. That would be neat and clean. That would have been a sting operation.
Thank you sir for this correction. Our journalists some times misuse words. I call it “diction malapropism”. I am a journalist by education and training, but it shames me when I read some lines in our dailies, and listen to some casters’ pronunciation of words too. We won’t get it right when we keep discriminating based on who you know and from where you come before job is given.
Thanks
Dem don begin again o
Whatever name their crime is called, is irrelevant as long as it has been established that a crime has been committed, let them go to court. They are judges who knows how to defend themselves. Too much grammar will not solve any problem.
@Olayiwola. Sir, every profession has its terminology; and that should be accurately used to avoid misconception. That is why the media have specialized reporters to report different fields. You are also getting it wrong when you say, “…it has been established that a crime has been committed”. It has not been established that a crime has been committed, rather, it has been alleged that a crime was committed. Establishment of commission of crime is different from allegation of crime commission. Thank you.
We will review and take appropriate action.