A Supreme Court judge in Nigeria was charged on Monday with money laundering and immigration offences, the latest development in a controversial crackdown on the country’s judiciary.
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta was one of seven judges arrested in October during an unprecedented nation-wide sting operation by Nigeria’s secret police in connection with alleged corruption.
Ngwuta appeared in a Federal High Court in the nation’s capital of Abuja in connection with laundering over $1.7 million in naira, dollars and pounds between January and October 2016.
Prosecutors alleged Ngwuta was in unauthorised possession of multiple passports, including diplomatic passports.
The 65-year-old, who appeared nonplussed in court wearing a blue suit with a red tie and matching pocket-square, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Defence lawyer Kanu Agabi argued for judge John Tsoho to release Ngwuta on bail, but prosecutor Charles Adeogun-Phillips objected, saying Ngwuta tried to tamper evidence following his arrest.
Adeogun-Phillips told the court that Ngwuta made a phone call in an attempt to remove three luxury cars from his house.
The prosecutor added that Ngwuta also asked someone to remove two bags – one with 27 million naira and the other with documents – in his bathroom that were eventually recovered by investigators in November.
Ngwuta was granted 100 million naira bail ($317 000) with the judge adjourning his case to December 7 for trial.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was voted into power in 2015 vowing to stamp out endemic graft in the West African nation.
But critics have claimed that his anti-corruption crusade comes at the expense of the country’s economy, which is in the throes of a recession.
