As a way of identifying those who have been compromised by politicians, security agents have been detailed to monitor bank accounts of judges handling various election petition cases at the tribunals and courts across the country, The Punch reports.
This was as all members of the judges’ families as well as their friends are said to have been placed under surveillance in order to make sure that they are not used as means of reaching out to the judges by politicians whose cases are currently being handled at the courts.
A senior security official in Abuja told the newspaper on Tuesday evening that the need to watch over the accounts and movements of the judges was to forestall allegation of bribery and corruption in the discharge of their duties.
He noted that all the private and official accounts of the judges had already been placed under “red alert,” following the allegations that some highly placed politicians were already moving cash around with the aim of buying the judges over.
Pleading not to have his name on print, the security official maintained that the recent ban on lodgment of dollars by individuals was also part of the aims of check-mating the politicians, whom, he said, were moving foreign currencies around with the aim of inducing the judges.
The Source revealed that a particularly governor was actually being “seriously watched because of security reports around him which showed that he had been moving about with lots of cash in foreign currencies.”
According to him, “Well, we have it on good authority that some politicians were planning to induce the judges with money in order for them to either get favourable judgments or frustrate the dispense of justice.
“We are aware that our judges are of sound character, but we are also not unmindful of the fact that there could be some bad eggs among them.
“Therefore, we have placed the judges under serious security watch and have also placed their bank accounts under surveillance.
“We are doing this in order to help the system and also help the National Judicial Council to sanitise the system. This present government has zero tolerance for corruption in whatever level”.
Disclosing that the NJC could be saddled with the responsibility of sacking any judge found wanting in the judicial system, the official added that the security agencies would provide details of alleged transactions in order to prosecute any erring judge.
“The idea of just dismissing any erring judge on the basis of corruption is over. Apart from dismissing you, if found wanting, we will also prosecute you to serve as a deterrent to others,” said the security agent.
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