Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for allegedly failing to protect the judiciary.
The governor said the NBA had become a paper tiger without undertaking concrete actions to rescue the judiciary from political intimidation.
He spoke at a book presentation in honour of Justice Mary Peter-Odili as part of activities marking her retirement from the Supreme Court and her 70th birthday celebration in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
At the event were Governors Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).
Wike insisted that the NBA adopted a lacklustre approach to social change saying it was a disservice to the nation.
He said: “What is even worrisome on the part of the President of the NBA is his failure to admit that the NBA, including the inner and outer Bar, which he leads, has failed in their responsibility to protect the rule of law and defend the judiciary from punitive intimidation and erosion of its independence by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
“It is quite unfortunate that the NBA is only good at issuing bland statements of condemnation without more, while the judiciary continues to suffer ferocious bouts of harassment from a Federal Government that has become notorious for its contemptuous attitude towards the rule of law and the rights of Nigerians to an effective justice system.”
Wike also expressed his disagreement with some speakers, who blamed the problems of the judiciary on politicians at last Thursday’s valedictory court session organised in honour of Justice Odili.
A former NBA president Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) had identified corruption as the bane of the judiciary and pointed fingers at politicians, lawyers and the Federal Government.
But the governor said the SAN was wrong in his allusion to political cases as responsible for the debasement of the judiciary.
He said: “Now, if I may ask, are lawyers not behind the contemptuous criticisms of judges by clients?
“How many lawyers have withdrawn from political cases in protest against unwarranted castigation of the court by clients?
“How many lawyers have withdrawn their services to clients on account of frivolous petitions against the court without their consent?
“Who are those who advised politicians to reach out to judges? Where are the lawyers that have ever advised their clients against reaching out to judges handling their matters?
“For me, let us stop the scapegoating and tell ourselves the truth that as lawyers, most of us are all involved in this despicable conduct, perpetuating the same evil, only at different levels because of our predisposition for success through backdoors without any regard to the damage we are doing to the reputation of the entire judicial system.”
The governor said the Federal Government had in 2016 unleashed premeditated midnight raids on judges’ homes, including the Justices of the Supreme Court, in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Gombe, Kano, Enugu and Sokoto states.
He said: “In 2020, when the sanctity of Justice Mary Odili’s home was violated…over the Supreme Court’s judgment that sacked the party’s governorship candidate for Bayelsa State, the NBA just condemned it, without any further follow-up action to forestall a reoccurrence.”
Wike claimed the judiciary was also a problem to itself because it had become weak and incapable of asserting and safeguarding its independence from the predatory tendencies of other arms of government.
He noted that when judges were lacking in courage and integrity, they easily gave up to improper pressure, influence and control.
The governor assured that if elected the President of Nigeria in 2023, he would work with the National Assembly to prioritise the welfare of all judicial officers, including the provision of official cars and life-long accommodation as his government did in Rivers.
Justice Odili noted though the judges were among the best in the world, they had never been treated right.
She said: “A lot has been said about judges, judgments and corruption and what have you.
“The truth be told, the Nigerian judges have not been treated right, and the truth has not been said of Nigerian judges who in my view are the very best in the world.
tom, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, described Justice Odili as an epitome of humility.
Chairman of the occasion and former NBA president, Onueze Okocha (SAN), noted that Justice Odili served the country meritoriously, honourably and without blemish to her character.
Five books written in honour of Justice Mary Peter Odili are Judicial Journey of Hon. Justice Mary U. Peter Odili; Essays in Honour of Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter Odili; Icon and On: Leading judgments on women’s rights in Nigeria in honour of Justice Mary Peter Odili; Mary Odili and the Law: Legal essays and Understanding the administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria through the eyes of Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter Odili.