The Senate has mandated its Standing Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to exercise its constitutional power of oversight over the judiciary by investigating the recent arrest of Judges of the Supreme and High Courts by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) across the country.

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, gave the order at plenary yesterday after the chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Senator David Umaru, had requested the leave of the Senate to carry out the investigation, citing Section 62 of the 1999 Constitution and Order 96, Rule 37 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015, which empowers the committee to oversight the judiciary.

Senator Umaru said given the recent happenings in the judiciary, the committee will invite all the concerned Judges to appear before it.Recall that the Senate had last week Tuesday condemned what it called “midnight invasion”, arrest and detention of the judges by the DSS, saying that the secret police acted beyond its bounds.