The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has traced suspicious financial transactions to more Supreme Court Justices.
Already, two Justices of the Supreme Court – Justice Inyang Okoro and Justice Sylvester Ngwuta – are among the 15 judges under probe by the EFCC and DSS for alleged corruption.
One of the judges, whose case file was being “fine-tuned”, might face a 12-count charges.
It was also learnt that the National Judicial Council (NJC) will write to judges under probe to stop perform their official responsibilities until their innocence is established.
The NJC, which took the decision last week, was said to have decided to formally notify the judges to avoid a haphazard compliance with the directive.
A source said the letters will be sent to them before the end of this week.
The EFCC is preparing charges against the six judges it had interrogated. Also, the 15 judges under investigation have had their movement restricted to the country pending the conclusion of the probe.
The EFCC team is believed to have discovered that suspicious funds were lodged in the accounts of more Supreme Court Justices.
Federal High Court and National Industrial Court (NIC) judges under investigation are:
Justices Mohammed Nasir Yunusa; Hyeladzira Ajiya Nganjiwa; Musa Haruna Kurya; Agbadu James Fishim; Uwani Abba Aji; and Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya, Justice Adeniyi Ademola( Federal High Court); the former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike; Justice Kabiru Auta of Kano State High Court; Justice Muazu Pindiga (Gombe State High Court); Justice Bashir Sukola and Justice Ladan Manir, from the Kaduna State High Court..
An EFCC source told The Nation that, “From our findings so far, there is much rot in the Judiciary. More Supreme Court Justices have questions to answer on suspicious funds in their accounts. We cannot give you their names but it is certain that the apex court needs a surgical cleansing.
“We are already preferring charges against some of the six judges of the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court interrogated by our team. In fact, one of them will face a 12-count charge.
“We do not want piecemeal arraignment of the judges in court. We plan to file charges against all of them at once.”
On the restriction of the 15 judges, the source said: “It is only in exceptional circumstances like ill-health and any emergency that these judges will be allowed to step out of the country. They have all been watch-listed pending the conclusion of investigation or their trial.”
