Crackdown on Judges, an Executive Attack on Judiciary, Threat to Democracy-Oduoye

By Oluwamayowa Ojo

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Barrister Kayode Oduoye has condemned the raid on the residences and arrest of some judges by the Department of Security Service (DSS) on Friday night.

Odouye, in an interview with CityMirrorNews on Sunday described the crackdown on the judges as an attack on Nigeria’s judiciary and a threat to democracy.

According to the legal practitioner, the executive arm of government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has thrown decorum into the wind by treating judges of High, Appeal and Supreme courts like common harden criminals.

Popularly called SuperKay, the PDP chieftain stated that the President Buhari led executive might be attempting to intimidate the judges and thrash out the independence of judiciary to pave way for unchallenged tyrannical government.

Kayode Oduoye

He said: The manner at which President Buhari is using his security apparatus to   invade and harass the judges is quite unacceptable. It is very barbaric, undemocratic and absolutely unacceptable to any reasonable and sensible thinking person in this present age and time.

“There are laid down rules and procedures for doing things in a democratic setting. This action falls short of the expectations of a civil and democratic setting. The attack on the judges has shown that President Buhari is obviously bereft of a democratic mind, lacking respect for human dignity.

“It is not out f place to say that President Buhari has no respect for the rule of law and other tenets of democracy. The President should be reminded that he was brought to power by the collective will of the people through democratic means. Therefore, his actions must be guided by the principles and tenets of democracy at all times.

“His dictatorial tendencies under this democratic dispensation are totally condemnable. With this action, I can tell you he has lost a vast majority of support of the elite class who initially believed that he is out to fight corruption objectively.”

Oduoye stated that the attack on the judges called for concern and attention of well-meaning Nigerians, arguing that if judges could be maltreated, no other citizen is free from the harassment and intimidation of the security agents.

He stated: ‘This is not a time for politics. We need to rise up as concerned Nigerians, irrespective of our political parties, to defend the judiciary, the last hope of the masses against the executive onslaught. Standing with the judiciary at this time is the best we can do to save ourselves from injustice.”