HIGH COURT CHIEF JUDGE IMPLICATED IN $1.3M BRIBE!

Justice Ibrahim Auta, the Chief Justice of the
Federal High Court of Nigeria, may well be
neck deep in the corruption that led to last
weekend’s arrest of some high court judges
by the Department of State Security (DSS),
SaharaReporters has learnt.
Investigators said Justice Adeniyi Ademola of
the Federal High Court in Abuja, in whose
home over $550,000 was allegedly found
during the raid, has confessed to a deal
between him and Chief Judge Auta by which
$300,000 of the physical cash found in his
bedroom was to have been shared between
the two men.
He said only $50,000 belonged to him in the
deal, indicating that the CJ was awaiting his
share when the DSS operatives swooped in on
his residence and arrested him on Saturday
night. It is unclear to whom the balance of
$200,000 would have gone.
Asked if that had been the pattern of bribery
for the CJ, he answered in the affirmative,
saying that several High Court judges are
assigned lucrative cases by the CJ, who then
requests them to collect the bribes in dollars
and transfer to him physically at home.
He revealed that the CJ has received monies
from him several times after matching him
with high profile cases that are then settled in
favor of the highest bidders.
SaharaReporters learnt that CJ Auta was
quizzed and then quietly released yesterday
by the DSS, but the department has not
officially confirmed either his arrest or
interrogation.
Powerful interests are pushing back against
the arrest of corrupt judges. SaharaReporters
has however learnt that four, including
Appellate Court judge Uwani Abba-Aji, are in
line to be arrested. We also reliably learnt that
Mrs. Abba-Aji was dropped from the list of
judges to be elevated to the Supreme Court.
Justice Mohammed Yunusa, who was bribed
by Ricky Tarfa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,
Munir Ladan, and Bashir Sukola, both of the
Kaduna High Court, are also due for arrest
and interrogation, unless DSS is somehow
stopped from its ongoing action against
corrupt judges.



Sourced and edited by DANIEL IKECHUKWU EKWUNIFE