FG to arraign Justice Ademola, wife today

THE Federal Government will, today,  arraign another of the seven judges arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS), Justice Adeniyi Ademola and his wife, Mrs Olabowale Toluwatope Ademola, who is the Head of Service of Lagos State, before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja.

Justice Ademola and his wife are to be arraigned on a 15-count charge before Justice Jude Okeke sitting at FCT High Court 15, Maitama.

The DSS had, between October 8 and 9,  raided the residences of seven judges, including two Justices of the country’s apex court, the Supreme Court, in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Gombe in sting operations over allegations of corruption. They were arrested and later granted bail by the secret police.

Those involved are Justices Iyang Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta, both of the Supreme Court and two Federal High Court judges, Justices Adeniyi Ademola and Nnamdi Dimgba.

Others are Auta of the Kano High Court, Muazu Pindiga of Gombe High Court, Mohammed Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal in Ilorin and the Chief Judge of Enugu State, I. A. Umezulike.

The government had, on November 21, arraigned Justice Ngwuta before Justice John Tshoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering and passport infraction relating to age falsification and obtaining of multiplicity of passports.

The Federal Government, had also, on Monday, November 14, through Mrs Hajara Yusuf, a principal state counsel, on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federal (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, filed the 15-count criminal charge against Justice Ademola and his wife.

The 63-year-old Justice Ademola, who is a grandson of the first indigenous Chief Judge of Nigeria (CJN), Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola and 59-year-old Head of Service of Lagos State were alleged to have committed the offences, including criminal conspiracy to receive gratification, receiving gratification, money laundering, between February 2014 and June 2016, contrary to Section 8 (1) (a) of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act and Section 15 (2) (c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended).

Both were alleged in the suit, FCT/CR/21/2016, to have received a total sum of N248,101,300 and $520,000 as gratifications from law firms and others between 2013 an 2016.

The suit was brought before the court pursuant to Sections 104 and 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) Act 2015.