Why Judges Were Arrested By DSS – Presidency

The Presidency on Sunday faulted the claim that the judiciary was under attack following the arrest of some judges by operatives of the Department of State Services.

Rather, the Presidency said it was corruption and not the judiciary that was under attack.

In a statement on Sunday, signed by Mallam Garba Shehu, the Presidency said President Muhammadu Buhari has utmost regard for the judiciary and would not subject it to ridicule.

The statement said Buhari reserves his highest respect for the institution of the judiciary as the third arm of government.

To this end, it said the President will not do anything to undermine its independence.

It said: “President Buhari remains a committed democrat, in words and in his actions, and will not take any action in violation of the constitution.

“The recent surgical operation against some judicial officers is specifically targeted at corruption and not at the judiciary as an institution.

“In a robust democracy such as ours, there is bound to be a plurality of opinions on any given issue, but there is a convergence of views that the country has a corruption problem that needs to be corrected.

“But reports by a section of the media are giving us cause for concern.

“In undertaking the task of reporting, the media should be careful about the fault lines they open. It is wrong to present this incident as a confrontation between the executive and judicial arms of government.

“The Presidency has received assurances from the DSS that all due processes of the law, including the possession of search and arrest warrants were obtained before the searches.

“To suggest that the government is acting outside the law in a dictatorial manner is to breach the interest of the state.”