Chairman, presidential advisory committee on anti-corruption, Professor Itse Sagay has revealed that judges handling cases of corruption against public officers are under surveillance.
Professor Itse Sagay
As the anti-graft war in Nigeria gathers momentum, the Federal government has moved to place selected Judges handling the cases of corruption against public office holders under surveillance.
The revelation was made known by the Chairman of the presidential advisory committee on anti-corruption, Professor Itse Sagay during a recent chat. He described the nature of the surveillance to be very civil.
The action was necessitated for the purpose of monitoring the performances of the judges on moral, professional and ethical grounds. The Federal Government had to make the hard choice due to the inability of the committee and other partnering government agencies to find upright judges across board, who will handle alleged corruption cases against the looters of the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.
Sagay, however, did not reveal the identity of those monitoring the judges. He disclosed that the rot in the judiciary had made the search for the desired upright judges a Herculean task. The sought-upright judges are to take off with the planned trial of alleged looters, while the constitution amendment for the establishment of the special looters' courts is being pursued, which Sagay said could run into next year.
Sagay said that his committee will work with all the relevant agencies like EFCC, ICPC and others while also effectively collaborate with them.
"They have nothing to fear. We are not out to take their jobs from them. All this hostility must stop. We have been vested with the powers to recommend people for prosecution. A lot of people who are supposed to welcome us have been hostile. We are here to make their work lighter. All we are going to do is to increase the investigative capacity of these agencies."