Lawyers have described last week’s bombing of two courts in Rivers State as a desecration of the temple of justice, a threat to democracy and an invitation to anarchy. In this report by Eric Ikhilae, they examine its implication on judicial independence and suggest ways of preventing a recurrence.
For the courts in Rivers State, these are not the best of times. The courts seem to have been caught in the cross fire of the political crisis in the state. On two occasions in the past two months, some courts were bombed or burnt. The first occurred on December 18, last year and the last one was on January 6. Many believe that they have political undertones.
The last incident occurred a day before the court was to hear an application by the self-styled Speaker of the House of Assembly, Evans Bipi. Two courts were bombed. One is in Ahoada in Ahoada East Local Government Area and the other is in Okehi in Etche Local Government Area of the state.
Last December 18, Justice C.N. Wali’s office and car park were bombed after he restrained Bipi, who represents Ogu/Bolo constituency, from parading himself as speaker. Dynamites were reportedly thrown into the court about 3am.
Observers believe that the incidents reflect the decadence in the society, where politicians and those in power treat judicial pronouncements with disdain.
The incidents highlight the general insecurity in the land, brought about by those who promote illegalities and have no respect for life.
The solution, they argued, lies in the resolve of the ruling class to enthrone the rule of law, and their willingness to play by the rules.
There is also the need for the government to make Section 14 (2b) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government – actionable.
Some lawyers, including Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Okey Wali (SAN), Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), Malam Yusuf Ali (SAN), Deacon Dele Adesina (SAN), Wahab Shittu, Festus Keyamo, Nojim Tairu and Ikechukwu Ikeji, say the incidents portend danger.
They said the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
The lawyers did not only condemn the development, they urged the security agencies to step up efforts to secure the nation.
Wali said: “The NBA condemns these acts of brigandage and views them not only as sacrilegious, but also as a desecration of the temple of justice.
“We have always called on politicians to play by the rules, whatever grievances anybody has he should go to court.”
He said NBA would work with security agencies to ensure that the sanctity of the courts is protected.
“On no account will it (NBA) ever idly stand by and watch these acts of violence and impunity to our courts, which are tantamount to an affront to the rule of law and threat to our democracy.
“This underscores the need for government to take the security of lives and property more seriously. The lackadaisical attitude accorded to the security of our courts nationwide, is now brought to the fore.”
Wali, who gave the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) 30 days within which the made public their findings in relation to the Rivers bombing, urged the government to pay more attention to security in the nation’s courts.
Akintola urged members of the political class to avoid over-heating the polity. He cautioned that nothing should be done to jeorpardise the nation’s democracy and inhibit judicial activities and quick dispensation of justice.
“The burning of the court is highly despicable and condemnable. I condemn it in all its entirety. I want to appeal to the political class to be very careful. Some of us fought and put our lives on the line for this democracy.
“It is quite unfortunate that some of those who had no iota of contribution or know the geography of any detention camp are the ones reaping the benefits. They have to be very careful,” Akintola said.
Ali, who is the Chairman, NBA’s Anti-Corruption Commission, urged security agencies to apprehend the culprits and ensure that the full weight of the law was brought to bear on the perpetrators, if the act was intentional.
“I strongly condemn the act if it was deliberate. I condemn it with every fibre in me. The security agencies should go after the perpetrators if it was intentional. If it is arson, then we must get to the root of it,” Ali said.
Adesina warned that should the judiciary be exposed to such threats, there could be anarchy.
His words: “The recent attempts at bombing the Courts an otherwise sacred place is highly condemnable and must be outrightly condemned by all the right thinking and civilised members of the society.
“The Judiciary is the only institution saddled with the duty and responsibility both constitutional and statutory to adjudicate and resolve disputes between persons and persons, persons and goverments and governments and governments. The efficiency of a nation’s judicial system and its administration of justice is one of the indices for measuring its civilisation and economic development.
“I don’t know who will invest in an economy with an uncertain and intimidated judicial system. This novel development is not only brutish but it also constitutes a descent to anarchy. I hope it won’t repeat itself.
“One of the significant requirements of justice administration throughout the civilised world is that the judiciary must be fearless and independent. The institution as well as its officers and personnel must dispense justice without any interference, fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
“I see the bomb attacks as a calculated attempt to instill fear and timidity in our judges. I also see it as a well crafted threat of intimidation of the judiciary as an institution, an institution that ought ordinarily to command respect, trust and confidence of both the government and the governed.
“We must not forget that men are powerless, institutions build a nation. The implication of the dastardly act cannot be far fetched. First, access to court may be negatively impacted. Prospective litigants may be scared away and people may begin to result to settling their scores primitively and lawlessly by taking the laws into their hands leading ultimately to total breakdown of law and order.
“Secondly, intimidate the court and you see justice taken a flight particularly in a developing democracy such as ours where virtually all political and electoral disputes must end in court. People must realise that there is no alternative to the judiciary, arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms not withstanding.
“The law of self preservation, personal safety and security is the very first law of standard behaviour. Government must rise up to the occasion not only to protect the right of access to courts but also to reassure the Justices, the judges, lawyers and the litigants of their personal safety and security in and around our courts and l think the Nigerian Bar Association must not only demand this but they must secure it otherwise rule of law will be constantly assaulted and our nascent democracy will be threatened.”
Shittu noted that under a democracy, the Judiciary ought to be independent and incorruptible. He added that if the Judiciary is endangered under a democratic dispensation, it portends great danger for law and order, and it is also an invitation to anarchy.
“So, the bombing of courts in Rivers State is a subversion of democracy, a subversion of constitutionality; it is a subversion of the rule of law, a subversion of due process and it is a subversion of the doctrine of separation of powers, as well as a threat to law and order, and national security.
“So, if you look at it from these parameters, you will see clearly that democracy is really endangered, and the right of the Judiciary to function unfettered is being hampered. It is a sad day for our Judiciary, a sad day for our democracy and a sad day for constitutionalism.
“It should be condemned by all democratic forces. The security agencies should get to the bottom of this; fish out those behind it in order to bring them to book.
According to Keyamo, the development is a danger to the nation’s democracy. He noted that in a democracy, people take refuge in court, so that, when the court makes pronouncement, at the end of the day, we can all be at peace.
“If they now take this terrorism into the court then, unfortunately people will have nowhere to turn to again. That is why I said it a danger to our democracy. If people have nowhere to turn to again, then we are looking at a revolution. This development is highly unacceptable.”
Tairu argued the attack was symbolical. He added that the Judiciary as a whole, is being watched by vested interests whose fate, on many fronts, depends on d output and performance of the Judiciary.
“The judicial institution is under a siege and pressure (for good or bad intention) to perform, live up to standard expectation.
“It is said – unto whom so much is reposed, so much is expected. Frustration breeds desperation, disenchantments will dovetail to nihilism and a slide to anarchy and such attacks as under comment. The event is unfortunate and condemnable. It should not be an occasion for the usual unprofitable institution of a tribunal of inquiry and other wasteful exercises.
“The attack should be seen as a wakeup call and summation of the daily countless, voiceless attacks, going on in the mind of the citizenry and even critical stakeholders within the judiciary itself, against the judiciary. Enough of palliatives, half-hearted, cosmetic reforms. A real change in the status quo is urgently called for lest we have a systemic failure with devastating domino effect on other sectors in the nation.”
Ikeji, who stressed the implication of the attacks on the independence of the Judiciary, noted that where a judge’s mindset is fettered by the fear of attack or of violence against his or her person or family, this will tend to hinder the independence of thought that such a judge ought to bring to bear on cases he or she is handling.
He argued that when a judge receives a threat to his or her life, for instance, from quarters that he or she knows are likely to bring the threat to fruition, the judge is most likely to act under the weight of such threat.
Ikeji noted that where judges are living under a threat to their lives, they are bound to either refuse to preside over cases, as happened some time ago in Borno State during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, or sit on cases in fear of attacks. This, he said, fetters judges’ independence to a large extent.
“That is why it is a dangerous trend to allow the current spate of bomb blasts in Rivers State to continue unabated. The perpetrators must be fished out and dealt with appropriately in a transparent manner and according to the rule of law.
“Such people should not be left to go free. It is a sorry story of the level of social decadence that is prevailing in Nigeria today, where human lives do not mean anything and where people die like rats and nobody blinks an eyelid.
“It goes to show that Nigeria is a terrorist state, a still birth state or a failing state, if you like.
Where violence becomes a tool of settling scores or making points, then rule of law takes flight. There is absolutely no rule of law where people who perpetrate violence in a society are not adequately prosecuted or punished. If we agree with the theory that the bomb blasts have the potential to affect the independence and mentality of the judges, and we also agree that our courts are the custodians of the rule of law, the obvious inference to draw is that rule of law is being threatened.
“If you take a closer look at the Rivers State High Court bombing, you will agree with me that it has political undertones. The day of the bombing was the day fixed for the hearing of an application by Evans Bipi, the leader of the five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who was restrained by the court from parading himself as the Speaker of the House. “Now, the order restraining him was granted ex-parte, meaning that Mr. Bipi was not heard before the order was granted against him, and the day of the bombing was the day fixed by the court to hear Mr. Bipi as to whether the order should be vacated or not. So, Mr. Bipi was to have had his day in court on the day of the bombing.
“Had the case come up, it would have pointed to a definite direction of the crisis in Rivers State House of Assembly as a result of the claim by some people that Mr. Bipi was duly elected Speaker. But the case did not come up as a result of the bombing and Governor Amaechi went ahead on the same day to hurriedly present the Appropriation Bill to the faction of the legislators loyal to him getting them to immediately pass the Bill within an hour.
“Now, several questions arise with regards to the effect of the incident on rule of law and democracy. Was is it legal for Amaechi to have got his loyalists to sit outside of the House of Assembly and passed a law? Is this a reminder of the Obasanjo era? What is the effect of the bombing on the mind of the judge handling the case? To all intents and purposes, the bombing is bad news to rule of law and democracy,” Ikeji said.
The consensus, however, is to the effect that the nation’s democracy is threatened by the attacks on courts in Rivers State and that there is need for the politicians and those in authorities to tread softly. There is also the need for the security agencies to wake up to their statutory responsibilities. This is because where anarchy sets in, no one is spared of the consequences.
