NJC Emergency Meeting Ends Again Without Resolution

      For a second day running, the emergency meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC) in Nigeria, convened to take position on the arrest of some judges by security operatives, has ended without any resolution.


      After the meeting ended without a position taken on Tuesday, it was rescheduled to continue on Wednesday.All the members gathered again on Wednesday and talks began. After hours of meeting, it was said to have ended inconclusive again. Members had reconvened in the morning at the three arms zone area of the Supreme Court Complex in Abuja. Before the meeting began, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is also the chairman of the council, had described the arrest of judges as saddening and regrettable.

     He, however, gave the assurance that the NJC, the apex body of the judiciary saddled with the responsibility of disciplining erring judicial officers, will respond to the issue appropriately. The National Judicial Council (NJC) was scheduled an emergency meeting days after the judges were arrested by some operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and the department of State Services.

    Journalists, who had gathered early enough on Tuesday to cover the meeting were denied access into the meeting hall.

Abdullahi-Garba
Spokesman for the Department of State Services, Abdullahi Garba
After the arrest of the judges whipped up diverse comments from lawyers and even the Nigerian Bar Association, the DSS released a statement, giving reasons for its arrest of some judges.

In the statement, a spokesman for the DSS, Abdullahi Garba, said that the service had in the past few days, embarked on raids of residents of some Judges of the Supreme, Appeal and High Courts.

Mr Garba says the operations are based on allegations of corruptions and other acts of professional misconduct by a few of the suspected Judges.
culled from channels