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  • Judiciary on trial: Televising Tribunal proceedings to the rescue? – By Magnus Onyibe

    Judiciary on trial: Televising Tribunal proceedings to the rescue? – By Magnus Onyibe

    For too long,Nigeria and Nigerians have been choked by myriads of constraints and restraints put on them like a harness affixed on a horse to curtail its freedom enabling the rider to control it.

    And it is a pity that like a horse ,Nigeria appears to have been ridden by a rough rider instead of an expert jokey.

    That is why our country is literally on the verge of falling off the cliff-politically , economically and socially by way of disunity-after being ridden to the precipice by an apparent rough rider that has been on the saddle in the past eight (8)years.

    Clearly, as a democrat , president-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mission upon taking office on 29 May would significantly contrast with the style of governance of the current leadership at the centre.

    The assertion above is underscored by the comment that he made at the commissioning of court facilities constructed in Rivers state under the watch of the outgoing governor,Nyesom Wike in the state capital,Port Harcourt.

    It may be recalled that during a two (2) day visit by the incoming president Tinubu to the Niger delta state last last Thursday 4th May,he promised that his administration would fight corruption in the judiciary by providing judicial officers with improved remuneration,necessary tools and working environments needed to do their job such as the type of infrastructure that he was invited to commission in Rivers state.

    That would be in contrast with carrying out sting operations on members of the judiciary by arresting senior members of the bench in gestapo-like style in odd hours and also taking them into custody in their sleeping wears,all in the bid to intimidate and rob them of their independence from interference by the executive branch.

    In my view,a paradigm shift in anti corruption fight that would address the root cause of the malaise would give Nigeria a new lease of life and make our country a truly democratic nation as opposed to the somewhat pseudo-democracy which by all indications and measures is currently in operation in our beloved country.

    But President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s utterance in Port Harcourt on fighting corruption sounded like dejavu encore to me and l guess the same applies to most skeptical Nigerians because that is similar to what the outgoing president Mohammadu Buhari told the long suffering masses in 2015 when he was assuming the role of president and commander- in-chief of the armed forces of Nigeria.

    And to the chagrin,utter displeasure and disappointment of hapless Nigerians, corruption in our country according to global corruption watch dogs,particularly Transparency International,TI has worsened between 2015 and today.

    Data from Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre,CISLAC under the Chairmanship of Mr Musa (Rafsanjani) Auwal, Nigeria’s corruption ranking in the committee of nations in 2022 is 150th position out of 180 countries in the world corruption index.

    The only country in west Africa performing below Nigeria or more corrupt than Nigeria according to the graft monitoring organization,Tl is Guinea Bissau.

    Our country in a scale of 100, scored 26/100 in 2019, 25/100 in 2020 and 24/100 in 2021.
    That signifies continuous decline in Nigeria’s rating which is not good.

    And according to media reports referencing Transparency International, Tl chair,Delia Rubio:
    “Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place.

    “As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict – and endanger people everywhere.

    “The only way out is for states to do the hard work,rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people,not just an elite few.”

    After a clear eye look at Tinubu’s promise to combat corruption in the judiciary,it appears feasible that he may be able to slow down the menace during his reign as president because he is planning on tackling it from the angle of closing the loopholes for corruption created by inadequate remuneration for members of the judiciary which is one of the root causes of graft both in the judiciary and indeed the entire governmental system.

    So,my confidence in the ability of the president-elect Tinubu to implement the policy of pursuing a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption in the judiciary from the root and not the surface as the outgoing regime seem to have been doing is buoyed by the fact that since he has been a two (2) time governor of lagos state (1999-2007),he must understand what it means to make such a significant pronouncement.

    As such his proposition must be a product of critical thinking and not mere brain wave as Nigerians have witnessed in the past eight (8) years.

    Incidentally,reforms in the judiciary, particularly with respect to a better welfare package for the members of the judiciary are supposed to already be afoot as evidenced by the approval for increase in the remuneration of Supreme Court justices (N10m and N90m monthly for both the Chief Justice of Nigeria,CJN and President of the Appeal Court and other justices respectively) introduced by the outgoing administration of president Mohammadu Buhari,but it is yet to be implemented.

    The reality is that Nigerian judges are paid less than our law makers.
    Even as judges in Ghana and South Africa earn higher emoluments than their Nigerian counterparts, yet Nigeria is often touted as the giant of Africa.

    But the 40% across board increase in the salary of civil servants including members of the judiciary by the outgoing government at the centre is being envisaged as a moral and productivity booster as it is also geared towards reining in or discouraging corruption not just in the judiciary but the government system as a whole.

    Although,one is cognizant of the fact the pending petrol pump price increase following the end of petrol subsidy regime from next month as the current regime exits Aso Rock Villa would wipe out the value of the 40% salary increase just being implemented,for now the increase in salary effected last from month world give the long suffering workers succor before the president-elects takes office and decides what to do about petrol subsidy removal.

    In my view, petrol subsidy must end as planned and a 100% increase in salaries for workers across board would be a necessary first step to ameliorate the consequential effect.But that is a subject for another discourse.

    Meanwhile, although improvements in the remuneration of judicial officers had already been approved,but it remains unimplemented despite the fact that agitation for pay raise for justices has been ongoing since 2008 which is such a shame that such a critical sector has been neglected in the scheme of things for so long.

    That is perhaps what informed Asiwaju Tinubu’s promise in Port Harcourt and justification for his assertion about the proposed reforms aimed at stymying corruption in the judiciary under his watch from 29 day of this month,all things being equal.

    So,presumably,the in-coming president’s statement is likely not a frivolous utterance but a tactical component of his grand strategy detailed in his Renewed Hope 2023 manifesto which is an 88 page development template that he leveraged to woo Nigerian electorate to vote for him in the course of the just concluded electioneering campaigns.

    At inception of the outgoing administration,the third (3) branch of government (judiciary) had appeared like the last bastion as it had remained in large part untainted.

    But after a short period,it wilted owing to the onslaught by the executive arm through undue interference that has blighted it to the extent that most Nigerians no longer see it as infallible and unbiased.

    And it is precisely why the judiciary is now on ‘trial’ which is such an irony because it
    used to be law breakers that would be on trial by the judiciary.

    Arising from the above ,the president-elect is spot-on,on the score of planning to tackle corruption in the judiciary as part of his party’s plans towards renewing hope in our beleaguered nation.

    The truth and reality are that it is a pliant judiciary that enables or facilitates the emergence of unscrupulous politicians.

    Now,not many people can spot the uncanny link between the judiciary and politicians. But president- elect Tinubu seems to have made that connection hence he seemed to have given a sneak preview of his agenda when he gets sworn into office from 29 May.

    The nexus between the judiciary and legislators as well as politicians in general is reflected by the catch phrase currently dominating the political space ‘Go To Court’.

    The absurdity was given a new lease of life by the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC chairman,Prof Mamoud Yakubu when he declined to respond to political party agents complaints about perceived improprieties identified during the collation of the results of the 25 February elections.

    Taunting aggrieved co-contestants for political office by daring them to go court is particularly the case in Nigeria where some unscrupulous political actors prefer not to campaign or woo the electorate,but deploy their financial war chests into ‘settling’ members of the bar and bench that help them obtain and maintain crooked mandates via courts as opposed to the electorate exercising their right to choose a president,senators,members of House of Assembly,HoRs,governors and state houses of assembly members.

    Since the return of multi party democracy in 1999,following former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s reign up to 2007 during which the rule of law was trampled upon and the principles of democracy were disregarded,it was acknowledged by subsequent decent political actors that election malfeasance had reached an alarming proportion in 2007.

    That realization prompted more democracy advocates in leadership to be more determined to reform the system and urgently too.

    So,it is the reform that was commenced in 2007 by the justice Lawal Uwais committee established by president Yar’adua of blessed memory (2007-10) and sustained by ex president Goodluck Jonathan’s regime (2010-15) that culminated into the Electoral Act 2022 passed into law under the watch of the outgoing government.

    At this juncture,it is worth pointing out that there are striking resemblances between the general elections conducted in Nigeria in 1979,2007 and 2023.

    In a manner that appears like dejavu encore to me,the current circumstances thrown up by elections 2023 may compel president-elect Tinubu to elect to replicate what late Umaru Yar’adua did in 2007 when his emergence as president midwifed during OBJ’s watch was alleged to have been tainted as is currently the case with Asiwaju Tinubu’s mandate in 2023, which is some sixteen (16) years after.
    And upon being sworn into office Yar’adua vowed to immediately embark on a reform of the process of recruiting political leaders.

    Asiwaju Tinubu in 2023 , like Yar’adua in 2007 who pledged to reform the electoral system is already pledging to end corruption in the judiciary through boosting their remuneration and providing a conducive working environment for them.

    That implies that there is a parallel between Yar’adua’s action in 2007 that vowed to improve on the electoral process and Tinubu in 2023 committing to eliminating corruption in the judiciary.

    Commendably,Yar’adua kept his promise by setting up the justice Lawal Uwais committee that laid the foundation for the electoral reforms that birthed previous reforms that culminated into Electoral Act 2022 currently in operation.

    Having made a similar commitment on May 4 in Portharcourt which is about twenty five (25)) days to his inauguration into office as president and commander-in -chief of the armed forces of Nigeria, hopefully, president- in-waiting Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would fulfill his promise in the manner that Yar’adua did.

    A constitutional crisis similar to the instant one bordering on elections result also had arisen in 1979 when Chief Obafemi Awolowo of UPN disputed the victory awarded Alhaji Shehu Shagari of NPN and the issue of what constitutes 25% of 19 states of the federation became a protracted matter requiring Supreme Court intervention in the manner that 2/3 majority votes in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT is currently a point of contention in election 2023.

    Given the anxiety that it generated,it was not expected that our law makers would not have learnt some useful lessons and as such ensured that such type of complexity is avoided forty four (44) years after.

    One common denominator between president-elect Tinubu ,former presidents Yar’adua (2007 -2010), Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015) and Shehu Shagari (1979-2003) is that they all introduced or tried to introduce reforms in the electoral system. They also tackled corruption in more scientific ways than through sheer brute force or naming and shaming methodology adopted by former dictators/ex heads of state turned democrats-generals Olusegun Obasanjo(1999-2007) and Mohammadu Buhari (2015-2023).

    Fortuitously,the president-elect Tinubu whose task would be to dig our beloved country out of the deep hole where it has currently sunken, all things bring equal has set the agenda by making one of his priority initiatives the restoration of confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary.

    And he would have to do so by sanitizing the judiciary which is the conscience of democracy and society if it is creditable,but can be instrumental to perpetuating bad governance or leadership,if it is corruptible.

    So,to birth a new Nigeria,first of all,the judiciary have to be cleaned up as it were.

    Right now ,most Nigerians would argue that it is the judicial institution without integrity that is constituting a drag on our country and inhibiting it from becoming the true leader of Africa and a very consequential country in the world.

    That is why the judiciary is currently on ‘trial’.

    I am of the conviction that if the judiciary that is fundamental to the recruitment of our political leaders in Nigeria is fixed or put on even keel,after its ‘trial’, then our country would be on the path to a rebirth as she would be positioned to be the true leader of Africa and also one of the leaders of the world.

    The critical role of Nigeria in the world order was recently acknowledged by the leader of the free world,USA President Joe Biden in his goodwill message to our country in the run up to the just concluded general elections.

    But to truly earn the global recognition and respect that President Biden and many other world leaders have identified and exhorted us to live up to,sanitizing the judiciary should be the task that must be accomplished by president-elect Tinubu after he gets sworn into office on 29 May,as substantive president of Nigeria,all things being equal.

    If that becomes one of Mr Tinubu’s main goal,as stated earlier,history may be repeating itself because reformation of the electoral system is exactly what Umaru Yar’adua of blessed memory embarked upon after he was swept into office in a gale of disputed election result as is the case in 2023 whereby the president-elect Tinubu is about to be propelled into office as President and Commander- In-Chief of the armed forces of Nigeria in similar circumstances.

    Without cleaning up the proverbial Augean stable which the judiciary seems to have become,whatever the incoming government does would be tantamount to building a house on a weak foundation.

    And the justification for the assertion above is derived from the reality that the aforementioned institution has been too malleable and susceptible to manipulation by political actors,hence our country has remained anchored on a shifty framework that has been hindering her from attaining her full potentials as the true leader of Africa in terms of being built on sound democratic principles and anchored on solid economic foundation.

    Universally,great countries (apart from communist China,Russia and North Korea and monarchies governed with religious dogma) emerge from having a robust judicial system with the rule of law embedded in its DNA. That is what would ensure the emergence of citizens that are driven by equity and justice that would ultimately produce leaders recruited through transparent,fair and free electioneering processes for egalitarian society.

    But the image of the judiciary has been worsted by a series of recent judgements that have befuddled Nigerians hence the third (3rd) branch of government has been in the eyes of the storm and on ‘trial’as it were.

    Readers would agree that it is an understatement to say that the recent judgements appear preposterous to ordinary Nigerians as they have been unable to discern the rationale for the decisions without the judiciary giving explanations on how it arrived at the very complicated and confusing decisions.

    In order words,Nigerians are distressed and frustrated because the aforementioned agency governing a critical aspect of their existence is in their view not living up to their expectations as their rather opaque decisions are not being explained to them in order to know why and how they made their seemingly odd and perplexing judgements.

    Hopefully,the final decision of the current election petition tribunals across the country in the process of resolving the disputes arising from the 25 February presidential and legislators elections and 18 March gubernatorial and state houses of assembly races would be very transparent.

    Based on the reality of lack of confidence besetting the judiciary in the court of public opinion,l urge our lordships in the temple of justice, particularly the tribunals hearing the presidential petitions to intentionally enlighten Nigerian masses on the steps taken and why in arriving at their decision.

    My point is that more robust communication between the judiciary and the electorate is critical at this point in time.

    As we all agree,extraordinary situations demand extraordinary solutions.

    Therefore,the approach of painstakingly explaining the reasoning behind their decision which would perhaps not ordinarily be the normal drill is required when they arrive at the decisions on the matters in which they are currently adjudicating in order to carry all Nigerians along and reduce the possibilities of misunderstanding of the intents and purposes of our learned tribunal panelists that could result in further strain in the relationship between the judiciary and the people.

    As the conventional wisdom goes,justice is not only supposed to be done,it also needs to be seen to have been done.

    Without a doubt ,with the tribunal justices going out of their way to carry Nigerians along by educating the masses on the principles applied in arriving at their judgement,the purpose of erasing any and every reasonable doubts,would be served.

    To most Nigerians,it was rather demoralizing and demotivating that the matter of who would become the political leaders of Nigeria is now at the behest of leaders in the temple of justice,not the masses as should have been the case.

    The resentment towards the judiciary by some Nigerians conveyed by the media which is the voice of the people elicited an incendiary media statement released recently by the spokesman of the Supreme Court ,Dr Festus Akande.

    He berated members of the fourth estate of the realm government (media) for daring to put judicial officers and the judiciary under trial as it were.

    In his view: “No Court in any clime is a Father Christmas; so,no one can get what he or she didn’t ask for.
    “Similarly, all matters are thoroughly analysed and considered based on their merits and not the faces that appear in courts or sentiments that attempt to becloud the sense of reasoning.

    “So,for anyone in his or her right frame of mind to insinuate that the justices have been bought over by some unknown and unseen persons is,to say the least, a bizarre expression of ignorance,which definitely has no place in law.
“We are not surprised with the surge of these well-orchestrated verbal assaults on judicial officers across the country at this period of elections”.

    As the apex court spokesman concluded , ‘it is a thing we are used to and are ever ready to absorb whatever comes our way; but there should be some level of decorum and dignity in what we say and do.
    “Politics should not be played without recourse to good conscience and acceptable moral conduct, as everything is evolving globally”.

    I would like to reiterate that a new Nigeria is possible if the judiciary after its current ‘trial’ ,becomes more open and welcoming to criticism by electing to drain the ‘swamp’ in which it is currently mired and a situation that going by pronouncements by its leaders in numerous workshops and seminars,it acknowledges and which is also recognized by president-elect Tinubu’s pledge to scrub the judicial institution clean of corruption via improved remuneration and other perks that would make malfeasance unattractive to members of the bench.

    Although,l do not have empirical evidence as to how Nigerians perceive the judiciary, it may not be far from the abysmal level of skepticism with which the masses currently view the elections umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC.

    And the likely low esteem of the judiciary in the eyes of Nigerian public stems from the recent and not too recent verdicts from our courts in landmark cases ranging from recent highly controversial judgements concerning governors and lawmakers who most Nigerians in frustration assume are induced either with money or coercion of power by state actors.

    And all the perceived malfeasance has been swirling around in the mass media and they are subject of gossips in drinking bars,hair dressing saloons and motor parks.

    It may be recalled that Mr Rotimi Amaechi who did not participate in campaigns and governorship election processes in Rivers state in 2007 ,which was according to INEC won by Mr Celestine Omehia,but whose victory got upturned by INEC in a manner that has left a lot of Nigerians still scratching their heads and even left bitter taste in the mouths of others.

    A similar judgement to the one in Rivers state reoccurred in lmo state in 2019 when judgement was given in favor of incumbent governor,Mr Hope Uzodinma who was adjudged to have come in the 4th position in the INEC declared result that got upturned by the courts when it stripped Mr Emeka lhiedioha of the title and position after he had been declared winner by the electoral body and sworn into office as the state governor.

    There are more similarly stunning decisions emanating from the courts in recent times. These are in respect of the emergence of senate president,Dr Ahmed Lawan as candidate for the senate even in the current election circle when he was also a contestant for the presidency at the same time and to some extent senator-elect Mr Godswill Akpabio who is currently the front runner to become senate president in the 10th assembly beginning next month,June.

    These two (2) very important personalities in the eyes of the ordinary Nigerians bought tickets and contested for the presidency in the same election season.
    In their simple logical thinking,the pair could not have also legally contested for senate seats,which is basically contrary to the provisions of electoral act 2022.

    Perhaps explanations about what informed the decision by the Supreme Court decisions to allow them be candidates for two elective posts in the same electing circle from Dr Akande could have cleared the fog.

    In the absence of the much needed clarity,those judgements riled up Nigerians to the extent that the reputation and credibility of the judiciary has further dipped hence the third (3rd) branch of government appear to be on trial in the court of public opinion.

    And it is all of the referenced presumed malfeasance that have been swirling around all over the mass media,thus further sullying the image of the judiciary.

    Although,l have a gut feeling that the courts may not be really culpable of malfeasance in giving some judgements that have turned out to be irksome to some Nigerians as highlighted above,the cynicism against the judiciary,as stated earlier may have its origin in the fact that it is not explaining its decisions to the Nigerian public in ways that they can understand the logic or jurisprudence behind the verdicts that they have been giving lately and which are obviously strange to most of us.

    So,the power of communications that oils the wheels of relationships between partners and even husband and wife may be the bane of the judiciary and the reason it is currently despised.

    As to be expected, in the absence of a robust communication strategy,the image or reputation of those who preside in the temple of justice have been dragged to the gutter level,and therefore abysmally sunken.

    Perhaps members of the judiciary have to read a poem written by the celebrated poet ,Prof Niyi Osundare about alleged criminal judges titled: My Lord, Tell Me Where To Keep Your Bribe” to come to terms with why the judiciary is on trial.

    If they are yet to read it,l have shared a snippet as presented below:

    “Do I drop it in your venerable chambers
    Or carry the heavy booty to your immaculate mansion.
    Shall I bury it in the capacious water tank
    In your well laundered backyard.
    Or will it breathe better in the septic tank.
    Since money can deodorize the smelliest crime.
    “Shall I haul it up the attic.
    Between the ceiling and your lofty roof.
    Or shall I conjure the walls to open up
    And swallow this sudden bounty from your honest labour.
    Shall I give a billion to each of your paramours….”.

    The poem which l have tagged ‘Poetic Justice’ goes on and on laying bare the foibles of alleged corrupt judges that are supposed to be incorruptible.

    The bottomline is that if a new leaf is turned for good in the judiciary after going through its trial in the court of public opinion by stymying corruption amongst its members as president-elect Tinubu is proposing ,a new Nigeria is possible.

    Now,let me make it clear at this juncture that the excerpt reproduced above is not meant to discredit or ridicule the judiciary.

    But it is aimed at calling the attention of the relevant department or officials to the sordid reputation that the institution has acquired,so that they can quickly find a way or ways to redeem the sunken image.

    The truth is that our country needs transformation and it must start from a critical branch of government such as the judiciary which for the sake of maintaining its independence must transform itself by itself not by the executive arm or the judiciary.

    In fact ,it is a compromised electoral and judicial system that would midwife the birth of executive and legislative actors that may pervert governance.

    That is why it is imperative that change starts from the baseline or maternity wards or delivery rooms for political actors which is election process that can only be midwifed by a robust and conscientious judiciary that is alive to its responsibilities by keeping in check potential excesses of the electoral umpire which is an agency of the executive branch.

    As media columnists/public policy analysts,we bear the burden of writing both scathing and endearing comments on both good and bad events or occurrences uplifting or afflicting our compatriots in the society.

    In the same manner,judges in the temple of justice give judgements that may be good and bad to the plaintiffs and defendants respectively,no matter whose ox is gored.

    But unlike media men and women,our lordships only face the wrath of the masses when they give judgements that appear to be opaque to them.

    And whenever their independence is threatened by the executive or legislative branches,the members of the fourth realm mobilize the masses to align with the judiciary to fend off its invaders.

    That was witnessed recently when judges got treated shabbily by being antagonized by the outgoing administration from around 2019.

    The media was also vocal in advocating for improved pay for Supreme Court justices when the issue came up via a leaked petition to the presidency and the outgoing authorities have approved but unfortunately failed to implement the raise in salary and other perks.

    But conversely ,the fourth realm of the estate which is the media is often a victim of the executive arm that chases its members down with state instruments of coercion,particularly by state governors who have caused a good number of journalists to be incarcerated or have their liberty withdrawn as it were for daring to pry into their affairs, even though they are public officers and accountable to the people.

    Similarly,the legislative branch is also sometimes hostile to the media as evidenced by the fact that it passes laws that are anti media.

    Take for instance the passing of the FoI act that was like passing the Camels head through a needles eye.

    Even then the act is hardly respected by all three arms of government that treat the media like a plague rather than ally in nation building that it truly is.

    So also are the anti-social media bills introduced during the 8th assembly by senators Ghali Na’aba,and an action that was repeated by senator Sani Musa in the 9th assembly,and both of which are believed by the media to have been meant to gag the press.
    But president Buhari distanced himself from the repressive laws following public outrage.

    On its part,the judiciary also often threaten members of the media with sanction as reflected by Dr Akande’s earlier referenced pungent press release.

    That is in-spite of the fact that the media is structured to be partners in nation building with all three branches of government,particularly the judiciary with which it should serve as society conscience.

    Worse of all,members of the public whose ox are gored also vent their spleen on members of the fourth realm of the estate who end up bearing the brunt of society in the course of trying to be watch dog on the other branches of government to curb their potential excesses.

    The unfortunate assassination via parcel bomb of ace journalist and Newswatch magazine co-founder,Mr Dele Giwa on October 19,1986 is a case in point.

    In the light of the above,it is unsurprising that one is currently facing threats of cyber attacks from radicals who are trolling me and threatening to hack into one’s phone to obtain contents which they intend to twist and present to the public in manners that one would be embarrassed.

    But,l am unperturbed and unfazed by such nefarious antics which would fall flat and definitely hunt and hurt their backers or those who they are backing when discerning members of the public see through the vile motives of the cyber bullies as sheer blackmail.

    As the saying goes,uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. That is an aphorism that encourages one from demurring from taking the responsibility of speaking truth to authorities.

    It is rather ironic that it is the seemingly innocuous shortcomings in the reformed electoral act 2022 that have now become the tipping point for the derailment of election 2023 process that was on track to becoming one of the best.

    And it is even more so because it is the granular details of the law which are supposed to have been clearly addressed in the course of reforming the former electoral law into Electoral Act 2022,but was left loose that is currently one of the thorny issues besetting election 2023.

    And owing to the failings of both the executive (lNEC organized elections in contention) and the legislative branches(drafters of the electoral act 2022 that failed to tie up loose ends), the judiciary is being left to literally clean up the mess, since the burden of untangling the legal complexities with a view to restoring peace and stability in the country has been thrust on it.

    The current elections difficulties echoe the constitutional dilemma that necessitated the introduction of the infamous Doctrine Of Necessity by NASS following the sudden death of president Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010 without handing over to then vice president Goodluck Jonathan and a constitutional lacuna arose.

    In deed,it is heart rendering that having suffered a similar constitutional crisis bordering on elections result in 1979 when Chief Obafemi Awolowo of UPN disputed the victory awarded Alhaji Shehu Shagari of NPN and the issue of what constitutes 25% of 19 states of the federation became a protracted matter requiring Supreme Court intervention,it was not expected that our law makers would not have learnt some useful lessons and as such ensured that such type of complexity is avoided. But forty four (44) years after, we are faced with the dilemma of debating if winning 2/3 majority of votes in the FCT is a precondition to be declared the winner of a presidential contest.

    In the light of the above,a new Nigeria is possible if president-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu upon being sworn into office as president from 29 May,would immediately commence working towards forging new policy directions that would prevent the judiciary from being corruption prone by implementing the salary raise approved by the outgoing administration which it has so far failed to actualize .

    The request by the PDP that the hearing be broadcast live is one way of carrying the electorate along as it may help the judiciary rescue itself from the black book of Nigerians. Without a scintilla of doubt,it would facilitate a buy-in by the masses if they see the decision of the tribunal as transparent,free and fair.

    In fact it would give the masses the kind of respite and confidence that the transmission of elections results from BVAS and IReV by INEC could have inspired amongst Nigerians if the electoral umpire did not renege on its lofty promise.

    The open broadcast of the proceedings on television and radio including even exploring a streaming option is necessary as it would amplify transparency in the administration of justice as opposed to the opaqueness exhibited by INEC which has tainted the outcome necessitating the intervention of the judiciary.

    The boast by presumed winners and INEC Chairman ,Prof Yakubu gives the impression that the declared victors may have special arrangements in the courts which they intend to leverage to secure victory. That may or may not be the case , but that is what is being passed across.

    To dispel the unedifying beliefs against the judiciary and evince the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral system after INEC Chairman frittered it away by not keeping to the promise to Nigerians that he would make the election process open and transparent by putting all the results from Bi-Mordal Accreditation and Verification System,BVAS on Independent Results Viewing Portal IReV potential defendants,the call by Wazirin Atiku Abubakar,former vice president and PDP presidential candidate for the transmission of the proceedings in the tribunal via television,radio and streaming may be a cure to the self inflicted and own goal committed by INEC at the end of an otherwise well conducted 25 February presidential and National Assembly elections exercise.

    Robbing Nigerians of that right to know what is going on during elections in real time via electronic transmission is what constitutes the bulk of the reasons that Nigerians resent the INEC.

    And it may be for similar reasons that the judiciary may be despised if the masses believe that their role as electors has been usurped by the courts that also denies them the opportunity of following events pertaining to resolving the dispute by the aspirants on real time basis via open broadcast of activities from the tribunal.

    Although it is not the making of the judiciary that they are being compelled to intervene,as the Supreme Court spokesperson,Dr Akande veritably pointed out in his media Intervention,it is imperative that the judiciary makes its interactions with the public more dynamic and robust.

    Otherwise,the judiciary risks being regarded and identified by the electorate as incubus/succubus which is a characterization that they have already made of INEC and the Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN which are the two (2) agencies of the executive branch of government whose combined policies literally raped Nigerians particularly in the months leading up to elections 2023 and afterwards.That much was captured in my article titled: “Elections 2023 And The Masses As Victims Of Incubus/Succubus Government “ published on Tuesday,18 April in my column and widely shared on other traditional and social media platforms.

    Arising from the above,my frank and candid advice to the judiciary is that it should take the request for live transmission via television, radio and streaming of the activities in the tribunals very seriously as it may be the game changer for the election 2023 that is looking like a cliff hanger situation .

    As we all know it has a precedence in the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa commission of enquiry created by president Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 to investigate human rights violations between 1984 and 1999 that was televised for public viewing of the process and which conferred credibility on the outcome of the exercise.

    After all said and done,in my reckoning,the judiciary can make a new Nigeria happen by truly acting with the equanimity of lady justice,the iconic symbol of the judiciary that is blind to prejudices and biases.
    As the popular maxim goes: the ball is in the court of the judicial.

     

    Magnus onyibe,an entrepreneur, public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from lagos.
    To continue with this conversation, please visit www.magnum.ng

  • Judiciary urged to handle 2023 elections petitions firmly

    Judiciary urged to handle 2023 elections petitions firmly

    The Labour Party Candidate for Abia South Senatorial District, Mr Chinedu Onyeizu, has urged the judiciary to be firm in delivering justice in all litigations on the 2023 general election.

    Onyeizu, who gave the advice in an interview on Monday in Abuja, urged judges handling various litigations at all levels of the elections to discharge their responsibilities with honour, transparency and competence.

    “Every Nigerian is hoping that the judiciary will be their last hope. The judges should look at the cases critically and be fair to all those who have approached the court for judgments, including my principal at the presidential level and all LP and other parties’ candidates,’’ Onyeizu said.

    He said that Nigerians were looking at situations where justice would be obtained even against the rich, the powerful and influential politicians in Nigeria.

    “We are looking at a scenario where the son of nobody, without knowing anybody aspiring to become somebody in Nigeria can achieve his dream.

    “I am hoping and praying that the judges will be fair in discharging their judgments,’’ the LP candidate said.

    Onyeizu, also seeking redress on the outcome of Feb. 25 Abia South Senatorial election, expressed confidence that the judiciary would dispense justice on the matter.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, winner of the Abia South election with the highest 49, 903 votes.

    Onyeizu scored 43,903, while the incumbent Governor of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu of PDP scored 28,422 votes.

    Onyeizu alleged that the election was marred by obvious irregularities and malpractices including falsification of results.

    He also claimed that the declaration of Abaribe, who was former Minority Leader of the senate, as winner of the election was not in conformity with provisions of the Electoral Act.

    “Basically, elections were not held in about over 108 polling units in Abia South. We have looked at those polling units and we discovered that, over 31,000 voters with PVCs were not able to cast their votes.

    “Also the marginal lead between the purported winner of the election, Abaribe and the first runner up, which is myself is estimated to be about 5,800.

    “The Electoral Act states that if the margin of lead is less than the total number of voters that are being disenfranchised, such elections should be declared inconclusive,’’ Onyeizu said.

    He expressed confidence that the election tribunal would look into his petition based on merit, ensure that justice is done on the matter.

    Onyeizu appealed to his supporters in Abia to be calm and believe in the judiciary, assuring them that effort was ongoing to reclaim the people’s mandate.

    “I see us emerging victorious because ours is a very clear case of intimidation, impunity and abuse of power.

    “I see us celebrating. I see a delayed celebration of victory, which will happen and by then we will be rest assured that the people’s mandate has been returned to them.

    “I am not contesting for Senate, but Abia South people are all contesting through me and the mandate should be returned back to the people,’’ he added

  • 2023 elections: Not democracy, nor politicians, but Nigerian judiciary on trial – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    2023 elections: Not democracy, nor politicians, but Nigerian judiciary on trial – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    The first Chief Justice of Nigeria, so named, was Stafford Foster Sutton; obviously a British, who was in charge from 1956 to 1958. However, and effectively, the first indigenous Nigerian to ascend to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria [CJN] was Justice Adetokumbo Ademola – he presided in that capacity from 1958 to 1972. 

    There was another “first” for the famous jurist – Sir Adetokumbo Ademola, in another clime of life. He was named the First Oluwo-Apena of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity [R.O.F] worldwide, from 1953 to 1993, though the ROF was founded on December 18, 1914, by a cleric gentleman from Ilesha; T.A.J Ogunbiyi, as an alternative of the Aborigine Ogboni Fraternity for practitioners of Christianity.

    Back to the continuation of the exercise at hand, over the real culprit now standing trial in the courts, I would like to remember another Chief Justice of Nigeria; the 13th – Justice Dahiru Musdapher. He would ever be remembered as one of the few CJN that came to office with a fully prepared mind of revolutionizing the Nigerian judiciary for good.

    It was him that once admitted that the process of plea bargaining has been so much abused by Nigerian courts that the respected jurist banished the process. Vanguard Newspaper of November 16, 2011, reported him as saying:

    “CHIEF Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, yesterday, abolished the plea bargain procedure hitherto employed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, in settling high profile cases of corruption out of court”.

    The CJN who described the plea-bargain system as “a novel concept of dubious origin,” insisted that “it was invented to provide soft landing to high profile criminals who loot the treasury entrusted to them.”

    Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fifth annual general conference of the section on legal practice of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, the CJN whose speech was read by Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court, said the system “has no place in our law- substantive or procedural. It is an obstacle to our fight against corruption, it should never again be mentioned in our jurisprudence.”

    Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Dahiru Musdapher said: “The guilty are afraid and when a man who has abused the public trust reposed in him feels the heat of the approaching long arm of the law he rushes to a judge with flexible conscience who makes him untouchable to the law enforcement agents. It is another obstacle to the struggle to uproot corruption in this country.

    Where are we in today’s Nigerian judiciary with the issue of Plea Bargain, is it not been daily introduced by government lawyers, mostly under the caprices of the Attorney General of the Federation, in flagrant disrespect of the CJN’s regulated declaration?  

    But permit me to go deeper into another statement credited to this jurist, that his name had been goldenly engrossed on stones of history. He was quoted at a time, while addressing his colleagues, as saying: “as we sit over trials, we should not forget the fact that we are standing in trial at such times”. 

    It is on the above quotation that I would want to address the topic of this exercise strictly today. And l hope many Nigerians will find a smooth sailing with my thought, because the destiny of our dearly beloved country is at stake.

    First, we need to play the issues that are most likely to tear the very tender fabrics of Nigeria into pieces up for identification. Let us flow please.

    There had ever been elections in Nigeria, since the day that a country was forcefully negotiated for us by foreigners – greedy foreigners that were driven by interest of their business gains, on that fateful calamitous day of October in Calabar. 

    The first malodours sign of “greater evil that was coming” was the fact that in the gathering of 28 people that met to amalgamate both South and North Protectorates – including the Lagos Protectorate, only 6 of them were Nigerians.

    The 6 Nigerians present at the amalgamation were: HRH Maiturare Sarkin Musulumi and Sultan of Sokoto, Usuman Dan Maje who later became Emir of Kano, Sir Kitoyi Ajasa a lawyer, HRH Oladugbolu Alaafin of Oyo, HRH R. Henshaw (Obong of Calabar), Abubakar Shehu of Borno”. 

    None of the 6 above appended pen to paper. They were merely gathered there, by the British, as observers. But above all, in the chain of calamity that have ruled a bedevilled Nigeria since then, is the fact – the real demonic-foul-odour-fact, is that none of the 6 Nigerians that sat at the ceremony saw the contract agreement of the amalgamation before it was signed by the British-rogues-invaders. And not one of the 6 was given a copy, even after signing it.

    Back to the topic under discuss, every election conducted in Nigeria since then have thrown up issues. But none have brought more challenge than the 2023 general elections. 

    It became one general election that questioned and reminded us more of tribe, ethnicity, and religion. For the first time, since those notoriously challenging elements that prelude the Nigerian Civil-War, we are today closest to a more harrowing holocaust. How I wished l can secure a lesser frightening word than holocaust to define our current situation.

    Yet we have a judiciary that have come a full circle, so it seemed. Yet, we have a fraudulent packaged Constitution that started its own narration fraudulently by saying: “we people of Nigeria . . .” when we know that Nigeria’s people were never gathered at any time, and at any place, to decide on the acceptability of that fake document.

    Yet, we have a very good articulated Electoral law, which introduced a Game-Changer, by the BVAS, and other good provisions, so introduced ab initio, by deceitful Dishonourable and Extinguishable, loaded in one Discreditable Assembly.   

    Now, and above all, that the 2023 general elections are come and gone, with conflicting claims of interests in some arears, while in other areas, there are obvious manifestation of malfeasances, where should we be heading to, logically?

    It should not be anywhere else but the courts. But if the Nigerian courts are the most appropriate place we should be going – I believed fully that it is the only optionable route we should be heading, will justice “without technicality” be waiting for us there?

    Given the revelations of travesty of justice coming from the Nigerian Temple of Justice, are we sure of having justice there? And what shall the cost of Justice torpedoed [at that temple] be to a people that are in honest and sincere search for Justice?

    Put it this way, probably for obvious clarity. The Nigerian Umpire of election – the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] is bereft of integrity; as attested to by every and all International and National Election Observers that observed the just concluded Elections, and the Nigerian  Courts we must be going, is lacking in integrity, as events at the Nigerian Supreme Court have shown, will it not be safer to define who should be standing trial before the courts?

    In your opinion please, and juxtaposing your opinion against the quote of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria; Justice Dahiru Musdapher, which is: as we sit over trials, we should not forget the fact that we are standing in trial at such times, who is going on trial in this issue of the 2023 general elections therefore?

    Is it the Nigerian politicians, Democracy or the Judiciary? Let the answer remains your open conscience, please.

    The Guru’s Court adjourns – C.O.U.R.T

     

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

    Contact:

    Website: www.godwintheguru.com

    You Tube Channel: Godwin The  Guru

    Twitter: @godwin_buebu

    Facebook: Godwin Etakibuebu

    Facebook Page: Veteran Column

    Telegram: @friendsoftheguru

    WhatsApp: @friendsoftheguru

    Phone: +234-906-887-0014 – short messages only. 

    You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; 9:30 – 11am on Lagos Talk 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].

  • Overburdening the Judiciary through Election Litigations – By Inuwa Bashir

    Overburdening the Judiciary through Election Litigations – By Inuwa Bashir

    By Inuwa Bashir

    Many candidates who lost in the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections and the March 18 governorship and state assembly polls have filed petitions at the presidential and state election petition tribunals to challenge the outcome of the polls.

    So far, over 100 election petitions have been filed by aggrieved candidates and their parties across the country. The presidential candidates of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party, Peter Obi; the Action Alliance, Solomon Okangbuan; Allied People’s Movement, Chichi Ojei, have also filed petitions for the nullification of the presidential election results. These could push the nation’s judiciary to a breaking point.

    On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has budgeted over N3bn to defend the results of the five elections it supervised. Last November, the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu lamented that the commission was handling over 600 cases in several courts across the federation.

    Speaking at a capacity-building workshop for over 300 judges that would handle election disputes, he revealed that the cases pending against the electoral body relate to the conduct of primaries by political parties.

    It could also be recalled that in February 2015, the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, lamented that the judiciary has been greatly overburdened by political matters.

    He spoke at a Public Dialogue on the Future of Justice Administration in Nigeria organised at the National Judicial Institute, NJI, by the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. According to the respected CJN, the country was struggling “to provide an efficient, fair and effective justice system that would be able to ensure that everyone, regardless of station or status, can access quality justice that is administered quickly.

    His words: “The current reality paints a sobering picture. The number of cases pending before the courts has reached critical proportions and we must use all appropriate means to stop it from spiralling out of control.

    “If one considers the number of cases pending in high courts and other courts of record, you will agree with me that the situation is indeed disturbing and sobering.”

    Although the former CJN spoke some eight years ago, the essence of his laments resonates with the reality today, if not worse.

    The judiciary’s role in determining the outcome of elections is constitutionally and statutorily provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (1999 Constitution) and the Electoral Act, 2022, respectively.

    The 1999 Constitution has, under section 6, vested the judicial powers of the federation in the courts established by the Constitution. These provisions imply that all disputes, including election disputes, shall be submitted to the Courts for adjudication and resolution.

    Similarly, Part VIII Electoral Act, 2022 has expressly vested the determination of election petitions arising from Elections on the various Election Tribunals established by the Act.

    As it were, the Electoral Act is very central to electoral adjudication. The Act envisages two main types of disputes- pre-election and post-election disputes. All disputes relating to disqualification, nomination, substitution and sponsorship of candidates for an election precede the voting proper in an election and are treated as pre-election matters.

    The Courts often do substantial justice by determining the petition on its merits and making a pronouncement as to whether a Petitioner was validly returned elected. Sometimes the courts refrain from entertaining the substance of the Petition, especially where such a petition is incompetent for want of strict compliance with the Electoral Act.

    Former CJN Mohammed Bello Adoke provides some insight into the complex web of adjudication of electoral matters: “The judiciary does not discharge its adjudicatory functions based on the whims and caprices of the Judges but within the confines of a complex web of laws, rules and case law.

    “Also, as is usual with every human endeavour, the process of adjudication is sometimes challenged by the incompetence of the judex to navigate the inconsistent, vague, and overly complex rules and procedures that attend the process, including the ever-increasing wave of political pressures and interference.”

    It then not surprising that litigating election disputes is contentious, complex, and often excessively technical. The technicality of electoral dispute litigation is fueled by the strict requirements of the Electoral Act, coupled with judicial attitudes over the years.

    The complex and technical nature of election petitions is largely responsible for the time consumption involved and the failure of election tribunals and courts to address the grievances of litigants despite efforts at resolving such election disputes.

    These scenarios are indisputably overburdening the judiciary. Today, Nigeria has one Supreme Court for a population of more than 206 million. It’s no secret that the justices are overwhelmed and overburdened.

    Overburdening the judiciary through excessive electoral litigations automatically fertilizes corruption in the judicial system and this must be addressed through multiple approaches.

    The emerging consensus from a cross-section of stakeholders is that technology should be applied to the administration of justice in Nigeria, perhaps including a more efficient use and application of electronic hearing, accessible to the public.

    All originating motions and summons should be filed and heard through electronic platforms. Judgment should also be delivered by electronic medium.

     

    Bashir, a legal practitioner and notary public, sent this piece from Kano.

  • Niger judiciary fires judge, demotes two

    Niger judiciary fires judge, demotes two

    Niger State Judicial Service Commission (NJSC) has dismissed from service the Magistrate Court Judge of Salka in Magama local government council of the state, Mohammed Bako Iya over gross misconduct and abuse of Judicial power.

    Announcing the development at a press briefing in the state capital, Minna, the Secretary of the commission, Abdulrahman Ahmed Garafini, also stated that the Commission has demoted two sharia court judges by one grade level.

    They are Abdullahi Nasiru, the Sharia Judge of Kotun Bola, Minna, and his colleague in Badeggi, Mohammed Baba Enagi.

    They were accused of misconduct and abuse of office.

    The NJSC secretary said the sanctioned judicial officers would also serve a tutelage of one year in other courts.

    The decisions of the commission, he said, were taken at its 136th meeting this month after consideration of the recommendations by the committees set up to investigate petitions against the judges.

    According to him, out of seven petitions, three were against the dismissed judge, adding that two were sufficiently proved by the petitioners.

    He told reporters that the report and recommendations of the Justice Mohammed Mohammed-led committee also indicted Mohammed Bako for “practically jettisoning his call as a judicial officer” by representing and shielding a suspect, Saba Idris, from arrest by police and the court.

  • NJC: Has a Daniel come to judgment?

    NJC: Has a Daniel come to judgment?

    BY PROF MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, CON, OFR, FCIArb, LL.M, Ph.D.

    INTRODUCTION

    The NJC under the current leadership of the Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, appears to be a retooled, re-invigorated, renewed and re-engineered NJC. It obviously seeks for justice – pure and undiluted justice. It shows humility and circumspection in handling matters. It bows to the superior reasoning in judgments delivered by competent courts of law. It accepts man-made errors. It does not attempt to play God; or hold aloft a presumptuously stainless banner of infallibility – an attribute belonging only to God Almighty. It does not arrogate to itself sainthood.

    NJC should only indict Judges in the clearest of cases and should not allow itself to be used, wittingly or unwittingly, by the other arms of Government (particularly the Executive)

    No doubt, it appears the members do read widely. They follow happenings in the land. They gauge the public temperature – especially with the barometer of stake-holders in the justice sector. The NJC just demonstrated these rare qualities in recalling and reinstating the Hon Justices Gladys Olotu and James Agbadu-Fishim. The NJC was mindful of its powers donated to it in sections 6, 153(1)(i), 158, 292(1) and paragraph 21(b) of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, as altered. It had, earlier, duly exercised these powers in reinstating Hon Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia after winning her cases in several courts of law. It was the triumph of justice over brute force; the triumph of the Rule of law, rather than the rule of might or rule of the thumb. The NJC on 17th January, 2022, has also just done the right thing by recalling and reinstating the Hon Justices Gladys Olotu and James Agbadu-Fishim at the NJC’s 100th meeting.

    NJC: Has a Daniel come to judgment?

    SOME BACKGROUND FACTS
    The above Jurists had fully exonerated by courts of competent jurisdictions after having their day in court; going through the ordeal of court trial; public trial, odium and opprobrium; mental torture and psychological trauma, spanning many years. Let us consider the case of a very brilliant Judge like Olotu, who was appointed a Judge of the Federal High Court on July 28, 2000; resumed duties on September 1, 2000; but compulsorily retired on February 27, 2014, after 14 years of meritorious service to her fatherland. Here is a Judge who had been glowingly recommended for elevation to the Court of Appeal Bench in 2013, by no less a person than the legal prodigy, doyen of Edo lawyers and leader of the Bar in the South-South, Chief K. S. Okeaya-Ineh. Her dreams evaporated; at least, temporarily. But, God always rights wrongs. Dissatisfied with her wrongful and premature termination of her appointment, Olotu took her case to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), where she lost. She then appealed to the Court of Appeal in search of justice. In a lead judgment delivered by Hon Justice D. Z. Senchi, sitting on a panel presided over by Hon Justice Peter Ige, Olotu not only had her compulsory retirement by the NJC reversed; the Court of Appeal also ordered that she be paid and accorded all her benefits and privileges as a serving Judge of the Federal High Court. The court held that the “finding of the trial court is perverse, wrong and a miscarriage of justice…The decision of the trial court breached the right of the Appellant to fair hearing and such decision is a nullity”.

    Hon Justice James Terseer Agbadu-Fishim, a Ph.D holder, author, prolific writer and former Senior Lecturer at the University of Abuja and Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, had been arraigned in court for allegedly receiving N4.8 million from some senior lawyers, including some SANs, which the EFCC claimed amounted to unlawful enrichment. In his defence before the NJC, the cerebral Judge demonstrated graphically how the said sums were given to him by the lawyers, who had either been his friends for decades, or teaching colleagues. He averred that they never at any point in time had any influence over any of his judgments. Indeed, to his solid credit and character, one or two of the lawyers who gave him some money upon his bereavement and who had appeared before him, lost all their cases. Knowing that he was merely doing his job having taken the judicial oath of office, that never stopped them from providing succour to a friend who was in dire need, having lost his father, mother and in-law in quick succession. Hon Justice Raliat Adebiyi had no difficulty striking out the frivolous charges, following the decision in NGAJIWA V. FRN (2017) LPELR-43391(CA); a decision later upheld on 30th of May, 2022, by the full constitutional court of 7 Justices of the apex court.

    The NJC did not bother to appeal Agbadu-Fishim’s victory, even as it did erroneously did in Olotu’s case. I had kicked against such a stance of the NJC appealing judgments which had faulted its disciplinary procedures and actions against Judges, based on insufficient facts. Now, a Daniel has come to judgment in the NJC. They appeared to have heard and worked with my humble opinion generated from a pure heart, in my uncommon defence of a beleaguered and traumatised Judiciary. In my piece dated December 15, 2022, titled, “Re-instatement of Hon Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia: Pristine Justice Finally Served”, which was widely published (see https://saharareporters.com/2022/12/15/re-instatement-hon-justice-ofili-ajumogobia-pristine-justice-finally-served-chief-mike; https://leadership.ng/ozekhome-hails-njc-for-reinstating-ajumogobia/; https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/12/examining-njcs-reinstatement-of-justice-ofili-ajumogobia/; https://guardian.ng/opinion/reinstatement-of-justice-ajumogobia-and-matters-arising/), I wrote as follows:

    “It remains to be said that the Common law or Anglo-Saxon system of jurisprudence which we operate in Nigeria is accusatorial and not the French model, which is inquisitorial. This means that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the State, unlike the latter which is the other way round: a defendant is presumed guilty until he or she proves his or her innocence. Accordingly, to the extent that Hon. Justice Ajumogobia has undergone the rigours of a trial and came out unscathed, it is uncharitable for anyone to insist that she should continue to prove her innocence, as it were.

    The role of the NJC in all this also deserves some commentary. This is because, as a constitutional body, its role should be no more than to dispassionately investigate allegations of misconduct against Judges and, where unproven or disproved, it should promptly reinstate them – in case they have been interdicted. Under no circumstances should NJC go so far as to appeal against a decision of a court which exonerates a judicial officer-as it is currently doing in respect of Hon. Justice Olotu and Agbadu-Fishim. This is wrong, and the NJC should discontinue and withdraw those appeals forthwith.

    The NJC should only indict Judges in the clearest of cases and should not allow itself to be used, wittingly or unwittingly, by the other arms of Government (particularly the Executive), to hound or persecute hapless Judges. That would be grossly unfair; it amounts to a flagrant affront on the Constitution. Those arms of Government should first cleanse their Augean stables – where confirmed cases of corruption-on-steriods abound – before turning to the Judiciary. This is because, compared to them, the Judiciary – as a body – is a Saint”. And the NJC heard me loud and clear.

    I am an Essayist and a prose writer; more, with all humility, in the mould of Chinua Achebe; George Orwell; James Baldwin; Joan Didion; and Elechi Amadi and Chimanda Adichie. I am certainly not a Poet – not a Wole Soyinka; Ola Rotimi; William Shakespeare; John Keats; T.S. Eliot; or John Milton. But, on this particular occasion, let me try my hands on a poem in honour of a reinvigorated and justice-driven NJC. Permit the poem’s obvious inelegance and inadequacy. Please, read on:

    “As vocations go, theirs is possibly the most thankless of all;
    Sitting in judgment, handing down sentences, reprieving some; yet condemning others, men and women;
    But, over-worked, overwhelmed, underpaid, under-rated;
    Peanuts they are paid; they retire into penury. Without roof or future, they despair; Suffering and smiling (aka, Fela Anikulapo Kuti), they pretend all is well. But, all is not well at all;
    Such is the lot of Judges, since the dawn of time; and across the world.

    Harassed by the Legislature; pauperized by the Executive;
    Hounded on false allegations by hooded security agents;
    Condemned by convention to reticence; and sworn to silence;
    They are to be seen and not heard unless when delivering their verdicts.

    They occupy the Judiciary, the weakest of the 3 arms of the State;
    So said Alexander Hamilton in his Federalist Paper No.78;
    Yes, indeed, because, it possesses neither purse nor sword;
    Ever at the mercy of other arms, it is always forlorn.

    Castigated and vilified by losers; but eulogised and celebrated by winners;
    Yes, they do wield the axe of contempt, but it hardly deters;
    So, in a curious paradox, they are most vulnerable, despite possessing enormous powers;
    Being targeted by agents of the State and bearing the ire of sore losers.

    The former includes the EFCC, ICPC, SSS and Policemen (both secret and not-so-secret);
    And the Judges’ regulator – made up of fellow Judges -is the NJC;
    It’s brief – to probe and punish judicial misconduct – is occasionally flawed;
    Leading, ironically, to such injustice which can only be reversed in courts of law.

    Such was the unfortunate fate of Justices Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, Gladys Olotu and Agbadu-Fishim;
    There were others – Justices Sylvester Ngwuta (JSC, now late); Niyi Ademola (rtd), H.A. Ngajiwa, and Musa Kurya;
    Having been unjustly and wrongfully indicted and removed from office by the NJC, they were exonerated;
    Whilst Ajumogobia was recently reprieved, Olotu and Agbadu-Fishim were initially not so lucky. They waited with bated breath and suspended animation for justice to come;
    The Sword of Damocles still dangled over their innocent heads as they still lived in dread of the unknown.

    Justices Ngwuta and Ademola had been similarly roped-in but escaped fortuitously; Ngwuta died shortly after- the aftermath of his ordeal, many believed; Ademola retired voluntarily after his acquittal;
    The case of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen (retd); was particularly egregious, having been dispatched from his exalted seat via a mere ex-parte order;
    He was humiliated out on completely State-instigated trumped-up charges; The shame of a Nation!

    NJC: Has a Daniel come to judgment?

    Prompting the question: “where was the justice in all this?”
    Is it fair for judicial officers who have served their country well to be so humiliated, traumatised and hounded out of office?;
    Is that how to reward them for the yeoman’s job they do?
    The answer is obvious — and it was supplied by courts, too – No!

    So, the apex court weighed in, in the causa celebre, NGANJIWA V FRN;
    As a precedent, the case has changed the narrative, the goal-post of persecution by a vicious Executive;
    Henceforth, no judicial officer can be indicted and removed from office unless the NJC says so after first investigating him;
    Thus, ensuring that other innocent Judges suffer no such poor fate.

    In those dark days, spoke I fiercely and fearlessly in Judges’ defence;
    Very few joined me. Most scampered and supported the powers-that-be; in the name of fighting corruption; Courage took flight from them;
    I pleaded with the NJC to reinstate the vindicated Justices; for they had been pronounced innocent;
    And their exoneration had come through the courts – the last hope of the common man- and woman;
    NJC fully agreed with me and fully reinstated them – to my eternal gratitude;
    NJC, thank you sirs. Relent not in doing good.

    It can safely be said that none of these Jurists suffered in vain;
    They have unwittingly made history; and written their names in gold;
    Their traducers, on the contrary, now hide their heads in shame;
    The would-be preys prevailed; and over them, a light was shown;
    The victims became the victors; the preys, the predators; what an oxymoron! What an irony! Life. God, how awesome thou art.

    The light of justice – ever bright, luminous, constant; and incandescent;
    Unwavering, unflickering, like the Northern Star;
    Thus, proving, yet again, the triumph of good over evil;
    Light over darkness and the virtue of rectitude over infamy.”

  • Attacks on judiciary: Our silence must not be mistaken for weakness or cowardice – CJN

    Attacks on judiciary: Our silence must not be mistaken for weakness or cowardice – CJN

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Olukayode Ariwoola says the Supreme Court’s silence on attacks on its judicial officers must not be mistaken for weakness or cowardice.

    The CJN gave the warning in a statement issued by Dr. Festus Akande, the Supreme Court Director of Press and Information on Saturday in Abuja.

    The statement is in reaction to the recent attacks on the judiciary by some group of persons over some recent political judgments delivered by the apex court.

    He warned the public to be mindful of their unwarranted attacks on judicial officers.

    “Certainly, every Nigerian citizen has inalienable right to express his or her opinion without any encumbrance but even in the course of expressing such fundamental right, we should be circumspect enough to observe the caution-gate of self-control in order not to infringe on another person’s right.

    “Even in a state of emotional disequilibrium, we should be reasonable enough to make a good choice of decent words.

    “We have watched with utter dismay some unfortunate events that have been unfolding in the country, particularly within the political landscape, for some days now.

    “It is so disheartening to learn that some individuals and groups of persons who ought to know better and even assume the revered positions of role models to a larger proportion of the citizens are now sadly, the very ones flagrantly displaying ignorance and infantilism in the course of defending the indefensible.

    “We have made it abundantly clear at different occasions that judicial officers are neither political office holders nor politicians that should be dressed in such robes”.

    He noted that courts do not advertise or scout for cases for adjudication; but at the same time, duty-bound to adjudicate on all matters that come before them with a view to giving justice to whoever justice is due, irrespective of status.

    “No Court in any clime is a Father Christmas; so, no one can get what he or she didn’t ask for.

    “Similarly, all matters are thoroughly analysed and considered based on their merits and not the faces that appear in courts or sentiments that attempt to becloud the sense of reasoning.

    “So, for anyone in his or her right frame of mind to insinuate that the justices have been bought over by some unknown and unseen persons is, to say the least, a bizarre expression of ignorance, which definitely has no place in law.

    “We are not surprised with the surge of these well-orchestrated verbal assaults on judicial officers across the country at this period of elections”.

    According to the him, ‘it is a thing we are used to and are ever ready to absorb whatever comes our way; but there should be some level of decorum and dignity in what we say and do.

    “Politics should not be played without recourse to good conscience and acceptable moral conduct, as everything is evolving globally”.

    He said that calling on the CJN to resign or attacking Justices that sit on various panels, as exhibited by a faceless group is rather prosaic.

    “If political parties fail to organise themselves well by managing their internal wrangling maturely and now chose to bring themselves to the court: we are duty-bound to adjudicate in accordance with the provisions of the law and not the dictates of any individual or deity, as some people would want us to do.

    “If political parties conduct themselves well and orderly too, the courts would definitely handle less cases and the political atmosphere will be much healthier than it is currently.

    “We shall continue to do our best in discharging our constitutional responsibility to keep the country together and move the nation along the path of peace, progress and development”.

    He reiterated that attacks by groups, political parties or individuals under any guise will not deter then but rather boost their resolve to do more for the country.

    “It is not only petty but equally very unreasonable for anyone to hurriedly link the CJN to his state of origin and tribe simply because of a particular judgment of the court.

    “The major problem of Nigeria has always been the undue emphasis on religion and ethnicity in all our dealings and as long as we continue along that path, progress will remain a mirage.

    “As at this moment, over 600 cases have so far gone to court from just party primaries which were conducted by political parties without any encumbrance or interference from any external bodies.

    “So, will the political parties or any individual now accuse the court of causing such unpleasant intra-party wrangling that defied all internal conflict resolution mechanisms?

    “Most times, some people try as much as possible to disingenuously stand logic on its head to show their level of unimaginable dexterity.

    He said that those who have cultivated the unfashionable penchant of always attacking the judiciary over every judgment or ruling should better have a rethink and start channelling such robust energy into some ventures that are more developmental than destructive.

    “We are not politicians and should not, by any stroke of imagination, be cast in that mould either.

    “Nobody’s interest can ever supersede the interest of everybody. Nigeria is bigger than everyone of us. a word is enough for the wise”, he said.

  • NJC seeks appointment of 84 judges, others ahead of election matters

    NJC seeks appointment of 84 judges, others ahead of election matters

    As part of efforts to prepare for challenges that may arise for the judiciary in the coming general elections, the National Judicial Council, NJC, has recommended the appointment of nine heads of courts and 84 other judicial officers.

    The recommended persons would after appointments serve at the federal and state high courts in the country.

    A statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Information in NJC, Soji Oye in Abuja said the candidates were presented for recommendations by its panel of interviews during its 100th meeting presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

    Those recommended for posts of Chief Judges included Justice Muhammad Tukur Mu’azu Aliyu (Kaduna), Justice Majebi Josiah Joe (Kogi), Justice Odusola Aiyedun Olusegun (Ondo), Justice Halima Sa’addiya Mohammed (Gombe) and Justice Lilian Abai (Abia).

    Others were Justice Abdulateef Kamaldeen (Grand Kadi, Kwara), Justice Stanley Adekunle Lawal, (President, Customary Court of Appeal, FCT), Justice Monisola Oluwatoyin Abodunde (President, Customary Court of Appeal (Ekiti) and Justice Uhuo Patrick Uchenna (President, Customary Court of Appeal, Ebonyi State.)

    Breakdown of recommended judicial officers 

    A breakdown of the recommended 84 judicial officers showed that four were for Ondo High Court and they are Akinbinu Sylvester Femi, Leonard Boyede Ologun, Bolatito Florence Ajibade and Akinwumi Bankole Jacob.

    The Customary Court of Appeal in Ekiti has three nominees and they are Lawrence Babatope Ojo, Adegboye Rotimi Adesoji and Ogundele Olufolakemi Olufunke.

    Borno State has five for appointment as Judges and they include Amina Mustapha, Ibrahim Mohammed Maina, Hafsatu Isah Bappah, Bukar Malgwi Umar and Mallam Buna Makinta while Anambra has two comprising Etomike Innocent Ndigwe and Tagbo Chinwuba Anieto.

    NJC seeks appointment of 84 judges, others ahead of election matters

    The five nominated for the Sokoto High Court bench are Bashar Ibrahim, Fatima Ahmadu Suka, Abubakar Adamu, Kabiru Muhammad and Amina Modi Yabo while the Sharia Court of Appeal in the state has two nominees as Kadi and are Idris Adamu and Mustapha Abdullahi Ahmad.

    Ogun State High Court has 8 nominees comprising Oluwafunke Omolara Odubanjo,

    Adelaja Adeola Ireti, Basirat Bolanle Adebowale, Adebayo Bamidele Adedapo,

    Ayodele Adebayo Omoniyi, Sunday Olufemi Adeniyi, Awofeso Ireti-Olu Babatunde and Abimola Christopher Shokunbi.

    The two nominees for Bayelsa State High Court are Charlie Ebiyon Duke and Ekadi Amadise Michael while the six for Ebonyi State are Esther Awo Ota, BUkeni Ogoke Stella Ejituruchi, Ruth Obaji Okeh, Blessing Ibeabuchi Chukwu, Christopher Ofoke Mbam and Francis-Abba Solange Amaka.

    The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has six nominees including Buhari Sani, Damachi-Onugba Agede Joyce, Hassan Muhammed Yakubu, Sandra Audu Yelwa, Subilim Emmanuel Danjuma and Muhammad Adamu Hamza.

    Cross Rivers High Court has two nominees in persons of Okokon Edem Nyong and Amajama Jacob Eneji while the four for Adamawa High Court are Christopher Dominic Mapeo, Ahmed Isa, Mohammed Ibrahim Tola and Benjamin Lawan Manji.

    Besides, Adamawa has one Kadi nominee for its Sharia Court of Appeal in the person of Isa Yusuf khalid while its Customary Court of Appeal has another one Judge nominee in person of Adabala Nicholas.

    The breakdown showed that Rivers State High Court has five candidates comprising Asivosuo Maccarthy Oriye, Omonigho Nwibani, Comfort Ifikmotu- Awaji Adangor, Prince Chika Mini and Beauty Ihuoma Emmanuel-Okere while its Customary Court of Appeal has two Judges nominees, Odiki Daniel- Kalio and Tetenwi Ngeli Elerabari.

    Zamfara High Court has four and they are Abdullahi Muhammad Gusau, Umar Adulnasir, Saad Garba Gurbin-Bore and Muntaka Ahmad Ya’akubu.

    Osun State High Court has four nominees comprising Lasisi Muhammmed Adebayo, Awe Micheal Oludare, Fatimah Adejoke Sodamade and Owolawi Joseph Olukunle while has one and is Adamu Mohammed Jajere as well as one Kadi for its Sharia Court of Appeal in person of Kasim Mohammed Kasim.

    Kaduna State High Court bench has seven candidates and they are Yakubu Bodamasi, Abdullahi Isiaka, Buhari Mohammed Balarabe Bashir Shitu Yusuf, Nana Fatima Mohammed John Aku Ambi and Joyce Asabe Akaa’ahs.

    Apart from the recommended seven high court Judges, NJC also sought for appointment of five Kadis for Kaduna Sharia Court of Appeal and they are Aminu Ahmad Jumare, Nuhu Mahmud, Murtala Nasir, Abdulrahman Ibrahim and Mahdi Muhammad Suraj.

    Kaduna Customary Court of Appeal is to have three Judges and they are Dorothy Sim Inwulale, Atung Dorcaas Tabitta and Yusuf Yakubu.

    The breakdown also showed that the Plateau State Customary Court of Appeal has only one Judge nominee in person of Jettei T. Pekun.

    The NJC statement indicated that all recommended candidates would be sworn- in upon approval of their recommendations by their respective state governors and State Houses of Assembly.

  • NCC seeks judiciary’s interest in ICT trends

    NCC seeks judiciary’s interest in ICT trends

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is seeking the nation’s judiciary to be part of Information Communications Technology (ICT) trends, whose impact has now affected ways that justice is delivered across the world.

    The leadership of the Commission made the call during a workshop organized for Nigerian judges which started in Lagos on Tuesday with the theme: “The digital world and the future of adjudication,” with judges from the federal and state high courts, and appeal courts in attendance.

    Speaking at the 18th annual capacity-building workshop, the Chairman, NCC Board of Commissioners, Prof. Adeolu Akande, urged the legal luminaries to make greater contributions towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development in Nigeria.

    While stating the centrality of a functional adjudicatory system as a bedrock for any civilised society, Akande said there was the need to constantly equip judicial officers with the requisite skills for effectual adjudication, especially in the digitized world, where the rate if technology development t is fast ahead of laws.

    Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, in his address, said the Internet comes with several challenges, hence the need for judges to be exposed to the benefits as well as the challenges associated with new technologies.

    The EVC said through the workshop, judges will be exposed to disruptive technologies, the rights of data subjects, and jurisdictional issues in the digital age, which have continued to make the ICT industry a dynamic one.

    “The increased reliance on telecommunications, as well as the growth experienced in the sector, has introduced some issues of legal connotation which will be deliberated upon by various experts during this workshop. One of such issues is the ownership of online content and materials.

    “So, it is envisaged that with the increase in the amount of online content, as well as the economic value attached to it, there will be a rise in conflicts as to ownership of online content and materials.

    “It is necessary that your lordships are well prepared for the imminent increase in litigation in this area. Furthermore, with an increase in the number of transactions and businesses taking place in the online space, it is also expedient for your lordships to be exposed to the peculiarities of adjudicating conflicts in this era of digital presence and online identity,” he said.

    He stated that the Commission conceived the idea of the forum, as part of its strategic partnership and collaboration, as a forum to further build the capacity of the distinguished judges with practical insights on these emerging issues in the field of telecommunications.

    “Hopefully, this workshop will illuminate these challenges and proffer ways to meet the dynamics of the changing times. I, therefore, enjoin you to freely make contributions and raise issues that would assist the commission in coming up with adequate regulatory measures that would enhance development in the communications sector of the economy.  We assure you that every view expressed would be respected and considered in this regard,” he said.

    On his part, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, commended the Commission for the annual forum while assuring the telecom regulatory of the commitment of the judiciary to using technology for justice dispensation as well as support a more robust legal ecosystem for sustaining socio-economic growth of Nigeria through telecoms sector.

    Represented by Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Ariwoola said, through the use of ICT, the judiciary has improved, not just in judicial administration and services, but also in infrastructural development.

    Ariwoola said regardless of the benefits of digitalisation there are bound to be liabilities and risks involved with its introduction and usage as she highlighted such risks to include Cyber Crime, data piracy, and hacking among several other vices.

    “Our judicial system has been challenged with delays in dispensing justice. However, with the introduction of ICT into the judicial space, many of the difficulties associated with the conventional methods are gradually being dispensed with,” he said.

    The Chief Justice said the path to effective and efficient justice delivery in Nigeria lies in the collective ability to continuously improve the nation’s justice sector with the use of ICT tools. “The Nigerian judiciary is committed to achieving lasting structural and ethical reforms that would reposition it to adequately meet the aspirations of court users and the public for the reliable, effective and efficient administration of justice through the use of ICT,” he said.

  • Is the judiciary beyond redemption? – By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    Is the judiciary beyond redemption? – By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    To affirm that the judiciary is corrupt is an understatement. The judiciary is not just corrupt; the men and women entrusted with the affairs of the judiciary are suffering from a huge character-deficit. It is painful that our judiciary has been constituted into an object of derision by the very people who should labour to maintain its prestige. The level of official corruption and moral degeneracy at both the Bar and the Bench is alarming. It seems as if the judiciary is beyond redemption.

    What does one see when one takes a puzzling look inside a typical courtroom? One sees a stoic super-mortal figure wearing microscopic eye-glasses resting at the tip of his nose and sitting majestically on a dignified chair waiting to strike the table at the tilt of the scale of justice. Taking further enigmatic loot at the portrait, one notices that the eyes of the super-mortal radiate a certain fearsome charisma which enkindles the whole super-mortal with an enchanting aura of respect and honour. Unfortunately all these are mere appearances. They are not justice. They may not lead to justice. At best they are symbols of justice. And beneath these symbols of justice is the wobbling feet of clay of the super-mortal incapable of supporting the super mortal.

    While the Bench sickens for lack of moral renaissance, the Bar fairs no better. Regrettably many members of the Bar lack the lowest common denominator of acceptable character. As regards the judiciary workers often loosely referred to as the judicial personnel-court bailiffs, Chief Registrars, Assistant Chief Registrars (ACR), court clerks, court messengers, court cashiers, court stenographers and so forth- their lives are ruled and governed by the civil service bureaucratic extortion.

    Oftentimes whenever corruption of the judiciary is mentioned, our thoughts first go to the magistrates and judges, forgetting that the judicial personnel who play an essential role in the administration of justice are damned too corrupt. A corrupt court staff can ruin your care before it even gets to the Judge. He can, for instance, hide away your case file for refusing to accede to his extortionist bid. So, the judicial personnel who perform administrative tasks in the judiciary play an indispensable role in the dispensation of justice. I am sure you have watched the video clip circulating on social media. It is a video clip exposing the day-to-day extortion and shady practices perpetuated by the judicial personnel in our courts. Judicial personnel extort money from lawyers and litigants before rendering them services which they rightly deserve.

    For example, at the time of filling his case in court a litigant usually pays for the service of his court processes on the other party. But the court bailiffs would not serve the court processes on that party until the litigant pays them an extortion ranging from N4,000 to N7,000. This explains why Busola Aro, a creative investigative journalist by profession, volunteered to go to the Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos, Agege Magistrate Court and the Ikeja High Court, Ikeja, Lagos with her hidden camera in order to expose the layers of corruption in our judiciary.

    Busola recounts how she got to Ikeja Magistrate Court and applied for a certified true copy (CTC) of a particular court judgment. Thereafter Alhaja Khaijat first directed her to see the Assistant Chief Registrar. Upon her return, she (Khaijat) said to her: “If you want to get the CTC today, you would have to mobilize people to help you look for it…You ought to know what to do. Those people won’t work for free unless you are ready to come back in two weeks”.

    Anyway, the journalist ended up giving Khaijat the sum of N2,000 extortion fee. Of course, her hidden camera captured Khaijat collecting the money from her and counting it in the open. Busola also narrated how she applied for a CTC of a court judgment at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, and, how the court official on duty at the material time looked at her and said to her: “You came from a newspaper company. You people are rich. Pay N20,000 or no judgment”.

    She also narrated how she went to the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, a second time, and how one Olubodun, a staff of the court, extorted the sum of N4,000 from her. She also narrated how she got to the Ikeja High Court and was commanded by the staff of the court on duty to pay the sum of N200 for photocopies. She promptly did and thought the extortion transaction was over. But she was wrong. No sooner had she quit the court premises than the court registrar called her and told her that she should pay the sum of N5,000 to him for “hospitality”. She promptly did and made sure that her hidden camera captured it.

    Sad. Isn’t?. Do we even need a Busola to tell us what we already know about our judiciary?. I don’t think so. The high-level corruption and shady practices in the judiciary are notorious facts requiring no proof by Busola. Not infrequently, some court bailiffs refuse to serve court processes simply because they were unable to extort money from the litigant or his counsel.

    Many litigants and their counsel get to court only to discover to their chagrin that their case files had either been misplaced or are completely lost. These are administrative injustices which beget legal injustice or even social injustice. It is sad that under the watch of the Bar and the Bench, court registrars, court clerks, court bailiffs, court messengers etc, who play a vital role in the administration of justice in Nigeria continue to set up layers and layers of corruption structures in order to extortion money from litigants and lawyers.

    For instance, to obtain a certified true copy of a court judgment or a court ruling a court registrar would extort not less than N5, 000 from you. To secure a hearing date at the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, the court officials at those courts will extort about N15, 000 from you otherwise they would inform you there are no more available hearing dates in the year. To get the court bailiff to serve your court process on the other party, you must give him not less than N5, 000 otherwise he will never serve your process and even if he grudgingly does so he will not put the affidavit of service in the court file until you pay him the extortion fee.

    The most tragic is the inability of judgment creditors to reap the fruit of their court judgment. After a judgment creditor had spent a grueling 6 to 10 years in court litigation he gets a favourable court judgment. But he cannot even levy execution against the judgment debtor because the extortion fee for levying execution, at least in Lagos State judiciary, ranges from N2.5 million to N4.5 million

    As has been repeatedly re-echoed, corruptio optimi pessima (The corruption of the best is worst). The judiciary is not just any arm of government: it is arguably the toast or lifeblood of other arms of government. The corruption of the judiciary is the worst tragedy that can befall a nation. So, it is high time the Bar and the Bench resolved to rid the judiciary of corruption. It is not rocket science. It is doable.

    To begin with, the court personnel who extorted money from Busola should not only be relieved of their jobs but prosecuted as well in the law court. Salus populi supema est lex. The welfare of the people is the supremacy of the law. Like Caesar’s wife, judges and Magistrates should learn to live above board and not smear their hands with corruption and dirty dealings. Judgeship should be reserved for the best and the brightest, not for never-do-wells or for those who find it difficult to eke out a living in private legal life.

    The current process of appointment and removal of judges in Nigeria is overdue for a review. First, the process should be transparent. It should not be shrouded in secrecy. Whenever a vacancy for the appointment of a judge exists in any Judicial Division, it should be widely advertised to the public so that interested lawyers should apply for consideration. As done in some countries, candidates applying to be appointed judges should be made to sit for a compulsory rigorous Bench examination. The yearly continuing education program for Judges and Magistrates should include such courses like basic logical reasoning processes, basic psychology, legal ethics, basic writing skills and basic philosophy.

    Lawyers should represent their clients ethically and professionally as officers in the temple of justice. Corrupt judiciary personnel such as court bailiff, court clerks, court messengers etc should be punished or disciplined regularly to serve as a deterrent to others. Each NBA Branch should regularly compile the names of corrupt judicial personnel for punishment. It makes no sense shielding them because they portray the judiciary in a bad light. Only an incorruptible and irreproachable judiciary will steer us out of the muddy water presently reaching our knees and threatening to drown us.