Update: 2 Supreme Court Justices – Sylvester Ngwuta, John Okoro arrested by DSS

Two Justices of the Supreme Court – Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro – were arrested at their official residences in Abuja by men of the Department of State Service early hours of Saturday.


The two men were said to be currently in the DSS custody in Abuja.

Media aide to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. Ahuraka Isah, confirmed to our correspondent the arrest of Justices Nwgwuta and Okoro.

He however said the reasons for the arrest were still not known to him.

He clarified that Justice Walter Onnoghen, the next in rank to the incumbent CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, was not among the Justices of the apex court arrested as earlier reported.

Isah said, “What I can tell you for now is that Justices Ngwuta and Okoro were arrested early hours of today.

“We do not know the reasons for the arrest yet. Justice Onnoghen was not among those arrested.”

Sources confirmed that Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja was also arrested by the operatives of the DSS after breaking into his official residence at about 1am on Saturday.

The official residence of another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, who is a neighbour to Justice Ademola on S. O Ogbemudia Crescent, Zone E of Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, was also searched.

But Dimgba was not arrested.

Credible sources confirmed to our correspondent that the security agencies presented search warrants for the raid on the homes of Justices Ngwuta, Okoro and Ademola.

The operative went away with some documents found in the arrested judicial officers’ homes.

It was learnt that the DSS had no warrant for the search conducted on Justice Dimgba’s house.