Recalled judge got N90m bribe from 100 lawyers - Presidential aide

(Endowed Blogs.)

The Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, has accused one of the six recalled judges of collecting N90m from 100 lawyers.

In a report by Punch, Obono-Obla said the judge, who was recently recalled from suspension alongside five others by the National Judicial Council, will be charged this week with offences bordering on receiving gratification from lawyers.

Obono-Obla allegedly revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission would likely file charges against the judge and the lawyers by Tuesday, June 20, 2017.

The presidential aide was further reported to have said that the NJC deliberately cleared the judge (whose name was not disclosed) to resume work despite cases of receiving gratification from lawyers pending against the judicial officer.

The presidential aide said, “The judge will be charged. He was deliberately cleared by the NJC.  But now, we have established a case of receiving gratification from 100 lawyers against him.

“The EFCC will file the charges against the judge and the lawyers by Monday or Tuesday.”

He said apart from charging the lawyers alongside the judge, “We are also going to bring disciplinary proceedings against those lawyers,” he was quoted as saying.

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The judge, whose identity is yet to be unravelled, will be the second among the recalled judges, to be charged after the NJC lifted their about-eight-month suspension.

The NJC had in a statement on June 1, 2017, lifted the suspension of six out of the eight judges barred from performing their judicial functions since October 2016 pending the determination of the corruption cases against them.

The affected judges included, Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court; Justice Uwani Abba Aji of the Court of Appeal; and Justice Hydiazira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court.

Others were Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court (who was prosecuted but discharged and acquitted),  Justice Musa Kurya of the Federal High Court; and Justice Agbadu James Fishim of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.