By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI-A Senior Advocate and Professor of Environmental law, Prof. Amari Omaka yesterday stressed the DSS has no powers to make such form of arrests under the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Prof Omaka who lectures in the Law Faculty of Ebonyi State University said even though he does not support any form of corruption by any individual at any level, the manner in which the war against corruption was being pursued particularly in recent times called for concern among well-intentioned Nigerians.

“The manner in which the Directorate of State Services has gone about these arrests leaves much to be deserved because I know as a legal practitioner of my standing that there are ways of disciplining erring judges.

“So to me, it is a desecration of the highly-honoured judicial system for a DSS to go into their houses to arrest them without any recourse to due process, he said stressing that at the level of the Supreme Court judges, if any of them were invited to come and answer questions on allegations leveled against them, naturally, the person would honour such”.

Prof Omaka who is the first and only Senior Advocate from Ebonyi suggested that rather than arrest judges, the proper thing would have been for the DSS to pass through the Chief Justices of the relevant courts of the state to produce whoever it is that has any case against them.

Ngwuta, Okoroand Ademola

“But for you to go at the dead of the night to arrest judges is the height of assault because people can’t even believe they are law enforcement agents. It is so ungodly and leaves much to be deserved. And I think it is quite embarrassing to desecrate the hallowed chambers of this country all in the name of fighting corruption”, Prof. Omaka alarmed.

He insisted that the action smacks of nothing than disrespect for the Independence of the judiciary.

The erstwhile Dean of EBSU Law faculty further maintained that under the law, there is a time limit within which to carry out legitimate actions by law enforcement agents and such is often between the hours of 6am and 6pm except if the person is evading justice.

“At that point you can get a warrant to arrest that person. But then is it even the duty of the DSS to execute a warrant? We have the Nigeria police and in the first place, it is not the responsibility of the DSS to arrest persons whether they are criminals or not. It is the job of the police to make such arrests and not that of the DSS particularly at that time we ‘heard’ the arrests were made”, Prof. Omaka said.

He called on the Federal Government to be civilized in the fight against corruption as the rule of law spells due process and civility.

“That is why am in all force with the NBA at the national that they should all be unconditionally released and let them face the due process of prosecuting those who have erred in law no matter how high or low they are. It is quite embarrassing if somebody can go to the apex court and begin to arrest people. That means nobody is safe”, he stated.

“In fact, what catapulted him from the High Court to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court was his integrity.

Although any person can change any day and am not holding brief for him, but until the contrary is proved, some of us are afraid that they may be some witch-hunt somewhere”. Ends