Joseph Waku, a former senator representing Benue North-West Senatorial District, has praised the Federal Government for looking into the deep corruption existing in the judiciary. He praised them for the act and told them to extend it to the regime of a former president of the Federation, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Below is what Maku said in an interview yesterday with newsmen.
“We need to sanitise our judiciary; if the arm of government that we know is the last hope of the common man is enmeshed in corruption, then where lies the hope of the commoners?
This is why I strongly support the clampdown on the judiciary, provided it is not a witch-hunt, but one aspect I object to is the manner of arrest, I think the law provides the way of arresting suspected corrupt persons. You have to invite the suspect and if he fails to respond to your invitation then you adopt minimum force. Continue…
“But swooping on suspects as if they have already been pronounced criminals is tantamount to criminality on the part of the security operatives.
“Imagine, security operatives invading judge’s house with maximum force, what do you think would have happened if the security men attached to the judge reacted negatively?
“The consequence would have been grave. So, that is why I strongly object to the method of the arrest, let them be civil in their approach.
“I strongly support the fight against corruption especially in the judiciary, because the perception of people on this arm of government is that there is a lot of rot there. Let the noise not die like that, those accused should be taken to court for prosecution and if found guilty should be convicted and punished.”
Waku also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend his anti-corruption fight to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime.
He said, “The corruption fight of Buhari will be meaningful if he can extend it to Obasanjo, corruption is not only when you take bribe or embezzle our commonwealth, election rigging is also corruption or using your office to conscript people to donate to your personal thing is corruption.”
When asked whether his hatred for Obasanjo was not responsible for his call for his prosecution, Waku said no.
“No! If you have personal contact with Obasanjo, you will know that he his humorous, I like him as a person, and besides, he is my elder, he was my commander in chief for 11 years. I cannot inherit anything from him, he cannot also inherit anything from me, Chief Obasanjo is a great man, there is no doubt about that.
“But the fact remains, let him be probed, it may even serve as a blessing to him, if his administration is probed and he is eventually found innocent, that will exonerate him from the eyes of the public and to some of us, Obasanjo remains the most … president Nigeria ever had until proven otherwise.”