Judge's Arrest: Lai Mohammed begs Newspaper Editors

The continued twists that culminated the gestapo attacks and eventual arrests of seven judges last weekend by operatives of the Department of State Security Services (DSS)has made the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed go begging members of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and Editors of major Newspapers in the country.

The Information Minister is soliciting the Publishers supportS to help “effect the change of narratives of the development trailing the arrest of the judges on the pages of newspapers.

The Director-General of the Department of State Security Services ( DSS), Lawal Daura and the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Ameachi wereindicted in the damning reports presented to the President, Muhammadu Buhari by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmoud Mohammed in the wake of the jestapo attacks and eventual arrest of seven senior judges in the country.

In the meeting held in Lagos, the Minister begged the Newspaper Proprietors and their editors to back Federal Government in the quest to “wield the arrested judges out of the system”.

One of the editors confided that they were being begged to use their positions to help save the DSS Boss job.

According to him, “The Minister of Information met with editors and publishers of major Newspapers in Lagos to beg them to be on the side of Federal Government on this judges issue.

“The report submitted by the CJN has exposed many shady deals Daura involved in and he’s on the verge of losing his job. The Minister is soliciting favourable reports that will help the DSS Boss keep his job”.

Lai Mohammed was also said to have informed the publishers and editors of Federal government’s position to consider one of the two judges aside Justice Walter Onnoghen nominated for the CJN’s position.

Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) had shortlisted three candidates for consideration to replace the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed.

The names of the three persons forwarded to the National Judicial Council at the end of the meeting are: Justice Walter Onnoghen, Justice Tanko Muhammad, and Justice Suleiman Galadima.

“Lai Muhammed said they (Federal Government) are not in favour of having a Judge from south south as the next CJN as it won’t help the APC in 2019 General Elections”. The source said.

However, a publisher of one of the popular newspapers was said to have rebuffed the Minister’s remark on while the present government would want to have another Northerner as the next CJN saying “that’s nonsense, Nigeria belongs to all of us, north just the North.

Aside the present CJN, Justice Onnoghen is the most senior judicial officer in the country.

Another fear being nursed by the Federal Government according to competent sources is that, if Onnoghen is appointed as the next CJN, the National Judicial Council ( NJC) under his leadership may be too hard to control and he may come after the President.