Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on
Anti-corruption, has lashed out at Supreme court Justices, Ngwuta and
Okoro, noting that the call by the justices for the minister of Transport,
Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to step down is malicious and a calculated
attempt to smear the image of the Buhari-led government.
Sagay who made this known in a statement titled, “Statements credited to
Justices Ngwuta and Okoro of the supreme court about Mr. Chibuike Rotimi
Amaechi – Minister of Transport” said he gave the opinion in his own
capacity and not as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on
Anti-corruption.
the statuses of the justices, they should not have engaged in such a
diversionary ploy to their own corrupt cases for which the DSS has raided
their places but should have rather focused on maintaining their dignity
and respect. “Two Justices of the Supreme Court affected by the DSS raids
of Saturday 8th October, 2016, have been quoted as stating that Hon.
Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi once attempted to
induce them to favour the APC in an election petition.”
“This outburst by the two Justices is surprising, considering that it is
totally unrelated to be raids of their premises, their arrest and
subsequent charges before our Courts. Men of that status should not
indulge in such diversionary activities in the midst of grave and ominous
charges facing them.” “I would have thought that they would use the time
at their disposal to prepare their defenses against the serious charges
they are facing.”
“In any case, given their statuses as Supreme Court Justices, even in the
middle of the adversity confronting them, they should not have engaged in
a distraction totally incompatible with the dignity and respect that their
high offices attract.”
“It is demeaning for them to abandon their legitimate defense in order to
smear a high official of the Buhari government, which latter, they
probably consider to be the source of their predicaments.”
“Mere allegations cannot have enough weight to affect the position of such
a high official as Amaechi, otherwise knowing the disposition of Nigerians
for putting people down, no office holder will be safe in this country.
It is therefore improper and ridiculous to compare the position of the
Justices in whose houses millions of naira and hundreds of thousands of
dollars were recovered, to that of Amaechi against whom there is only the
mere ipse dixit of the Judges.”
“This sudden anti-Amaechi narrative is consistent with the objectives and
interests of the chief promoters and funders of judicial corruption during
election petitions. These powerful opposition politicians are well
known.”
“To be more specific, they are from Rivers and Akwa-Ibom States. They are
the ones who financed judicial corruptions and brought that great
institution, the Judiciary, to its knees, after the 2015 elections.”
“These allegations are intended to undermine and weaken the Buhari Federal
Government, by depriving it of the service, input, ideas and productivity
of some of its brightest stars.”
“This is intended to set the stage for charging the government with
ineffectiveness and cluelessness. In other words, it is an attempt to
reduce the image and perception of this Federal Government to the low
level of their own late and unlamented government.”
“Therefore, the call for Amaechi to step down is malicious and vindictive.
It should be ignored with complete ignominy.”