Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has been roundly condemned for his role and misinformation on the failed attempt by the Directorate of State Services, DSS, to arrest a Federal High Court judge in Port Harcourt, River State, Mohammed Liman, on Saturday night in an ongoing crackdown on senior judges across the country.
Wike foiled the DSS attempt and later denied that the security apparatus did not find $2m in the judge’s house.
But in a swift reaction, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chairman in Ondo State, Prince Biyi Poroye, said Wike’s impunity was highly condemnable, stressing that the governor took undue advantage of the immunity clause in the Nigerian constitution.
“Wike’s action is highly condemnable,” Poroye said. “He has continued to abuse the immunity clause unabated in his effort to pervert justice in the state. The governor should have allowed the judge to prove his innocence or otherwise in the court. It is annoying that Wike has always come out of his impunities without a scratch. “But I think the Rivers State House of Assembly should suspend him so that he can face the music,” he added.
The PDP bigwig is elated at President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to fight corruption to a standstill in the country, while calling on DSS not to limit the searchlight only on the judges and the judiciary.
“Kudos to the Buhari government but the DSS should not limit the war against corruption to the judges and judiciary but to quickly extend it to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by investigating both the past and present chairmen,” he said.
Lima is accused by DSS to have allegedly taken bribes from Governor Wike to give favourable judgment to the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the PDP.
On Sunday evening, a top DSS official declared that operatives were still tracking Mr. Liman and would ensure his arrest in the coming days after the initial attempt was thwarted by Mr. Wike.
Poroye added that Liman allegedly took bribes to subvert justice in the leadership tussle within the PDP which has left the party factionalised for several months.
Mr. Liman’s July ruling authenticated the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP which had been deemed illegal by Justice Okon Abang.
“We learnt that the DSS said that Mr. Liman is ‘also a distributor’ who receives bribes on behalf of other judges and helps distribute it.
“He travels across the border to Ghana, Republic of Benin and other West African countries to meet lawyers in hotels to take bribes for himself and his colleagues on the bench,” he said.
An impeccable source added that the amount involved in Mr. Liman’s botched arrest on Saturday morning was actually $2.5m, and gave more explanation as to why operatives failed to arrest the judge or get the money.
“The vehicle that was used to cart away the $2m was faster than our men’s own,” the source said.
“They just couldn’t catch up with them at such a high speed. It’s like chasing a 7-cylinder vehicle with a 3-cylinder.
“We will arrest him in the coming days; we have no doubt about this as we have enough evidence to nail him in court. “By bringing Governor Wike in, he has worsened his own case.”
In a similar development, Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC has described the alleged failed abduction of a Federal High Court judge and the attempt on the life of Governor Wike as false.
A statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the party, Senibo Chris Finebone, said: “Early this morning, the media space was once again putrefied with a bizarre account by Governor Nyesom Wike of his encounter with a detachment of security personnel and how he [the governor] was allegedly manhandled and also insisting that $2m was not found in the judge’s house.
“To give the incident more prominence in the media space, the governor, through his media assistant, Simeon Nwakaudu, issued a statement which opened with an assertion that what happened was part of a siege on Rivers State by the Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Ordinarily, this macabre dance by Gov. Nyesom Wike should not merit any serious interest from anyone, because everyone has become sick and tired of such from him, but for the innocent people and residents of Rivers State whom he subjects to unbridled lies and misinformation under one phantom excuse or the other.
“There is no question that the melodrama is just one of the many chapters in Gov. Wike’s book on political demagoguery. Or how can anyone explain the many obvious inconsistencies that fly in the face of his highly mendacious account to the media this morning?
“Indeed, we ask: How come the governor said he did not know the occupant of the house? How did he find his way to the gate of a house he did not know the occupant? Is the judge of a federal high court under the governor of Rivers State? May be, yes but why? Is the federal high court, its judges and the DSS not belonging to the same Federal Government?
“The APC believes that the governor is once again up to his dishonest self. We do not believe his account. We believe that the bizarre stunt of bravado being peddled by Gov. Wike is just for the purpose of convincing his collaborators in the judiciary in Rivers State that he will always protect them.
“The claim by Gov. Nyesom Wike that his presence at the scene of the incident was to help resist abduction is typically dishonest. He was there to obstruct justice. Simple! And the reason is that crime connects much more than innocence does.
“But how far really can the governor go in shielding his cohorts from the law? Can the governor, for example, appear with those that have been dragged before the National Judicial Council, NJC? Can he?
“We thank God that Gov. Wike is in a position to tell the story (for whatever it is worth) by himself. If there was a role change in the morning, the security people would not be alive to tell their story now.
“The APC believes that recklessness is a choice which attracts consequences. May be Gov. Nyesom Wike learnt a lesson or two this morning. Please, let him deal with it and stop hawking insinuations or attempt to drag the APC or Mr. President into the matter.”
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