The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the arrest of
judges in some states across Nigeria as a “descent to fascism”.
The party, in a statement by its spokesperson, Dayo Adeyeye, on Sunday,
described the arrests of some Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and
the Federal High Court in their homes in the early hours of Saturday by
men of the Directorate of State Security Service, SSS, as “Gestapo like
invasions”.
The affected Justices of the Supreme Court were, Sylvanus Ngwuta and
Inyang Okoro, while the Judges of the Federal High Court were Muazu
Pindiga, Adeniyi Ademola, Abdullahi Liman and Nnamdi Dimgba.
PDP said Justices Ngwuta, Okoro, Adeniyi and Pindiga had been abducted and
detained, while Justice Dimgba only escaped abduction because he was not
in when the DSS operatives arrived at his home.
“Justice Abdullahi’s abduction was prevented by the timely intervention of
Governor Nyesom Wike, who insisted on the observance of the rule of law
and the application of due process.
“Governor Nyesom Wike was assaulted by the men of the DSS during his
intervention, causing him to sustain injuries on his arm. At a point, an
officer pointed a fully cocked gun at him and threatened to shoot him,”
the party said.
“During the invasion, the Justices were manhandled and members of their
families as well as their household staff beaten up.
“This invasion is the latest in a series of actions taken by the President
Muhammadu Buhari administration, which reveal its disregard for the rule
of law and its abject disdain for the Principle of Separation of Powers.
“This inexorable slide into fascism began with the invasion of the Akwa
Ibom State Government House by the self same DSS, the continued detention
of several people despite Courts ordering their release, the invasion of
the Ekiti State House of Assembly and detention of Hon. Akanni Afolabi and
the invasion of the Zamfara State House of Assembly.
“This slide into fascism has included a sustained attack on the leadership
of the National Assembly as President Buhari has sought to break its
independence and make it a rubber stamp to suit his will,” it said.
PDP said no president in the history of Nigeria has ever attacked the
Judiciary in such a manner.
It said “even the late dictator, General Sani Abacha, whose regime is
remembered by many as the second worst regime in Nigerian history, did not
carry out such Gestapo style attacks on the members of the Judiciary.
“By bringing this attack to the Judiciary, President Buhari has shown that
he has no desire to respect the pillars of our democracy. He has shown his
desire to kill off our democracy and convert it to an autocracy without
checks and balances,” the party said.
PDP said the Nigerian government has no regard for the rule of law.
“They do not care about court orders. This government has disregarded the
orders of the ECOWAS Court and every other court in the land and continue
to detain Dasuki illegally. They continue to detain hundreds of Nigerians
without bringing them to trial and against valid court orders.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Constitution in Section 153(1) (i) and
Part 1 of the Third Schedule thereto establishes the National Judicial
Council (NJC) and empowers same to regulate and discipline judges across
the country. The proper path to follow to discipline erring judges will be
to forward a petition containing any wrong doing to the NJC along with any
evidence in support thereof.
“The path not to follow is this Gestapo style invasion in the middle of
the night that involves the use of sledgehammers to breakdown gates and
front doors for DSS to gain access to the homes.
“Nigerians can no longer afford to stand aside and watch the Buhari
Administration destroy the foundations of our democracy that we have built
for several years. Nigerians have a duty to speak out against this sort of
tyranny,” the party said.