...Corruption, not judiciary under attack – Presidency

The Presidency has clarified that the recent raid of official quarters of some judges and their arrest by operatives of the Department of State Services were specifically targeted at corruption, not at the judiciary as an institution.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement last night described the incident as a surgical operation.

He said the Presidency assured that Buhari reserves his highest respect for the institution of the judiciary as the third arm of government.

According to Shehu, to this end, the president will not do anything to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

He said Buhari remained a committed democrat in words and actions and would not take any action in violation of the constitution.

“The recent surgical operation against some judicial officers is specifically targeted at corruption and not at the judiciary as an institution,” Shehu said.

“In a robust democracy such as ours, there is bound to be a plurality of opinions on any given issue, but there is a convergence of views that the country has a corruption problem that needs to be corrected.”

He noted that reports by a section of the media were giving the Presidency cause for concern. He said the Presidency had received assurances from the DSS that all due processes of the law, including the possession of search and arrest warrants, were obtained before the searches.

Shehu said to suggest that the government was acting outside the law in a dictatorial manner “is to breach the interest of the state.”