Supreme Court Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro arrested at their official residences in Abuja in the early hours of Saturday are in the custody the Department of State Service (DSS), Leadership reports.
It is gathered that the two men will be arraigned on alleged corruption charges on Monday in Abuja.
Media aide to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. Ahuraka Isah, confirmed the arrest of Justices Nwgwuta and Okoro.
Although he said the reasons for the arrest were still not known to him, Premium Times reports that “the operation was ordered after months of investigations, during which the secret police established credibly that the affected judges were involved in questionable financial dealings.”
Isah clarified that Justice Walter Onnoghen, the next in rank to the incumbent CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, was not among the Justices of the apex court arrested as earlier reported.
Isah said, “What I can tell you for now is that Justices Ngwuta and Okoro were arrested early hours of today.
“We do not know the reasons for the arrest yet. Justice Onnoghen was not among those arrested.”
Sources confirmed that Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja was also arrested by the operatives of the DSS after breaking into his official residence at about 1am on Saturday.
The official residence of another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, who is a neighbour to Justice Ademola on S. O Ogbemudia Crescent, Zone E of Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, was also searched.
But Dimgba was not arrested.
The DSS operatives went away with some documents found in the arrested judicial officers’ homes.
It was learnt that the DSS had no warrant for the search conducted on Justice Dimgba’s house.
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