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Tag: EFCC

  • The travails of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

    The travails of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

    The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is not my favourite person and I have differences with him on many issues. I must however, commend his immense courage for speaking out and exposing the monuemental corruption in the government that he once served and that has now decided that they no longer require his services.

    Two weeks ago, he claimed that 20 billion US dollars had gone missing from the coffers of the NNPC. Today he has been suspended and relieved of his duties for exposing the rot and speaking the truth. I have little doubt that the next thing that will happen is that he will be subjected to a formal probe and the EFCC will be called in to investigate his tenure of office. They will throw everything that they have got at him including the kitchen sink simply because he refused to play ball with them and cover up their penchant for monuemental corruption and graft.

    Some of us have been there before and we know what it is like. If you speak truth to power and you take on the system be rest assured that the system will fight back and they will attempt to destroy you and all that is yours. Yet none of that matters because the only thing that is relevant is the fact that history and posterity will be kind to Sanusi on this matter based on the choices that he has made.

    He spoke out when others chose to remain silent and to compromise. Unlike others, he refused to sell his soul to the devil and to sell his heritage and birthright for a mess of pottage. Despite the significant differences that I have with this man in terms of our different outlooks to how and what Nigeria ought to be as a nation I salute him and commend him for his efforts.

    I also make bold to say that with his noble stand he has assured himself of a great place in the next dispensation and he will play a key role in the future of this country one way or the other. May God guide and protect him in all his endeavours and may he continue to speak out with courage and strength and not allow himself to be intimidated or silenced.

    Long is the road of righteousness and

    truth and it is often tarred with the

    spikes of persecution, misrepresentation and falsehood. Yet at the end of the day it is the only road that is worth taking and it is the only one that leads to lasting honour and glory.

    May that honour and glory find Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and may God reward him for putting the interests and welfare of the Nigerian people before that of the woeful and rotten administration that he once served.

    This government has once again shown that it has no shame and that it is utterly bereft of any semblance of decency or morality. A man blows the whistle and exposes the fact that 20 billion USD has been stolen and instead of commending him and promoting him he is accused of wrongdoing, criminalised, villified and suspended. It is only in Nigeria that this sort of thing can happen.

    It has happened to me and many others before and now it is happening to Sanusi. I commend his courage and his ability to stand up and speak the truth to power. No matter what the government accuses him of now and no matter what trumped-up charges or baseless allegations they may come up with against him in order to justify their actions, the Nigerian people will always be grateful to him and indebted to him for exposing the rot and filth that constitutes the very foundation of the government that he once served.

    The level of impugnity and disdain that the Jonathan administration has for the people and for probity and accountability is second to none. The message that they are sending is clear- no whistleblower is safe in this country and in this government. Their intention is to destroy all those that have the courage to stand up to them and to intimidate us all into silence but they will fail woefully.

    The more people they seek to destroy for no just cause and the more innocent men and women that they persecute for telling the truth and for exposing their monuemental corruption and incompetence, the more they shall be resisted by people. What they have done to Sanusi is disgraceful and they ought to bury their heads in shame.

    Pertinent and appropiate are Sanusi’s own words when, after he was informed about his unceremonious suspension, he responded all the way from Niger Republic by saying ‘’you can suspend an individual but you can’t suspend the truth’’. He immediately boarded the plane and headed for Nigeria knowing full well that the security agencies were waiting for him.

    The plan was to arrest him on arrival in Abuja but he cleverly diverted his chartered flight to Lagos where close friends of his, including the former Minister of FCT Mallam Nasir El Rufai, a true and loyal friend and brother if ever I knew one, was waiting for him. He managed to avoid arrest but on arrival at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos the authorities stopped him briefly and took his passport from him.

    By that single act they have served him notice of their sinister intentions. In the coming days, weeks, months and even possibly years they will seek to humiliate him, to denigrate him, to malign him and to destroy his entire future. That is their intention but I firmly believe that it is not the intention of God and consequently they will fail. Providing he continues to stand firm and strong and remains undaunted such an evil plan cannot work and will not work simply because, as the Holy Bible says, ‘’the counsel of the ungodly shall not stand’’. It also says ‘’to subvert a righteous man in his course is not allowed’’ and that ‘’many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord will deliver him of them all’’.

    No matter how long it takes and no matter what they put him through Sanusi’s innocence will speak for him before God and before the Nigerian people. It is from the fiery furnace of persecution, misrepresentation and victimisation that true heroes are born. There is a spirit that emboldens and that stirs the passion and the soul of true warriors once they are sufficiently provoked. That spirit is known as the spirit of truth and it cannot be intimidated or denied.

    I must confess that it is very clear to me that Sanusi has that spirit and is possessed by that virtue. I say this because he was intelligent enough to know that with his utterances and his explosive disclosures about the graft in the NNPC and at the Ministry of Finance he was stepping on very powerful toes, treading on very dangerous grounds and swimming in very troubled waters. Yet despite the obvious dangers he continued and he was quite unmindful and unperturbed about what the direct consequences of his actions may be in terms of his personal safety, the security of his tenure of office or his career as a public servant.

    He was prepared to stand by and

    speak the truth no matter what

    and he was prepared to pay any price no matter whose ox was gored. That is the stuff of which heroes are made and I salute his courage. How I wish that more of our people were made of such stern stuff. If President Jonathan was really interested in fighting the war against corruption he would stop using his security agencies from tormenting and harassing innocent people.

    If he wanted to suspend some of his key officials and if he really wanted truth and justice to prevail he would not have targetted an innocent whistleblower who had constituted himself into a thorn in his flesh but instead he would have suspended Mr. Andrew Yakubu, his Group MD of NNPC, Mrs. Dieazani Allison-Madueke, his alluring Minister of Petroleum Resources and Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, his Minister of Finance pending the investigation into the missing 20 billion USD. Until he does that and as long as he continues to cover them all up and treat the Nigerian people with contempt and impugnity, no right-thinking person will take him or his administration seriously. This is all the more so for the following reasons. Firstly because it is a matter of public record that the accounts of NNPC have not been audited since 2005, secondly because Mrs. Allison-Madueke and the NNPC have admitted that 3.5 billion USD was spent on kerosene subsidy without appropriation and specifically against Presidential directives and thirdly because, Okonjo-Iweala has conceeded that at least 10.5 billion USD has gone missing and she has called for a formal probe into the whole matter so that all the figures can be reconciled. How I wish that at this point she would have resigned. The Ngozi that I once knew, who was a woman of impeccable breeding and deep substance and character, would certainly have done so.

    Sadly not many of the Jonathonians are familiar with the works of William Shakespeare simply because Shakespeare is not too popular in the creeks. Yet the few amongst them that are up to the task would do well to consider the words of Julius Caeser when he said “it is the custom of the immortal gods to grant temporary prosperity and a fairly long period of impunity to those whom they plan to punish for their crimes, so that they may feel it all the more keenly as a result of the change in their fortunes”. Those amongst the President’s supporters that truly love him and that have his interest at heart would do well to explain to him the import of these deeply profound words and wise counsel from Shakespeare’s ‘’Julius Caesar’’. In doing so they may save him and his entire court of royal jesters from a whole load of misery that undoubtedly awaits them in the future. As for Sanusi Lamido Sanusi it is very clear to me that the sky is the limit for him. Whether he likes it or not his journey into the turbulent world of partisan politics has just began and I suspect strongly that he has an appointment with destiny.

    Permit me to end this contribution with the following observation. In the last few days, much has been made about the fact that I have criticised Sanusi quite often in the past and that I have openly disagreed with some of his actions as Governor of Central Bank. It has also been said that on another occassion I raised some fundamental questions about what I described as his ‘’flawed and indefensible’’ position on the oil subsidy debate in 2012, his controversial views on Boko Haram, his position on revenue allocation vis a vis north and south and his harsh and historically inaccurate assertions about the Yoruba people a number of years ago. It is true that I opposed him on those matters and that I took those positions on those issues and I stand by each and every one of them. I do not see any big deal in that. Yet, many appear to be rather surprised that I would now be one of those that is defending the very same Sanusi that I have opposed in the past.

    Those that have expressed such surprise and that see this as some kind of glaring contradiction simply do not understand me. And neither do they appreciate the complexities of national debate and the importance of being completely detached and objective when it comes to any form of intellectual or public discourse. The truth is that I do not take positions against individuals but rather on specific issues. Hence I may be your friend and defender one day and your greatest critic and detractor the very next depending on what your position is on any specific matter. That is the essence of public discourse and intellectual debate. That is it’s nature. We must not be motivated or moved by personal considerations or by our love or hate for any individual but rather by principle, morality, logic, facts and figures, justice and the rights and wrongs of the specific issues of the day. No-one is all good and no-one is all bad. And neither is anyone, including yours truly, always right.

    The fact that I have disagreed with Sanusi over the last 20 years on a number of matters including his assesment of the Yoruba people, his views about the cause of the scourge called Boko Haram, the oil subsidy issue and the ‘’National Question’’ does not mean that I ought to support the fact that he is being treated in the most deplorable way by President Goodluck Jonathan. Though he and I disagree vehemently on many things it does not mean that we are enemies for life and neither does it mean that I should relish in it and remain silent when he is being treated unjustly and when he is being persecuted, humiliated and rubbished by the Federal Government. This is all the more so when he has courageously exposed the rot in the Jonathan administration. He may have got it wrong on other matters but on this issue I make bold to say that Sanusi got it right and he did the proper thing. He deserves my support, just as he deserves the support of all right-thinking people, and he can be rest assured that he has it.

     

  • Court: Ajudua has case to answer

    Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of a High Court in Lagos yesterday dismissed an application brought by a lawyer, Fred Ajudua, seeking to quash the $8.395 million fraud charge against him.

    Justice Ipaye, held that Ajudua had a case to answer, adding that the court is competent to hear the charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The EFCC charged Ajudua before the court for allegedly defrauding former Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd.) of about $8.395 million between November 2004 and June 2005 at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, when they were being detained.

    Ajudua filed a preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to try him on the grounds that he was charged under the repealed Advance Fee Fraud Act. He had also asked the court to try Bamaiyi for money laundering.

    He said Bamaiyi should stand trial along with him for admitting in his statement to the EFCC that he attempted to bribe a sitting judge.

    Yesterday, Justice Ipaye held that EFCC was right in charging Ajudua under the repealed Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act of 1995, since the act was in force when the crime was committed.

    The judge held that the defendant’s argument that the victim of the crime was tainted cannot be a ground for dismissing the charge. She said that facts about the credibility of the victim were not before the court.

    However, Ajudua’s formal arraignment could not proceed as his lawyer sought time to study the charge.

    The judge adjourned the case till March 11 for his arraignment.

    Ajudua is the only defendant in the fresh charge as others who allegedly committed the offence along with him were said to be at large. They include Alumile Adedeji (a.k.a Ade Bendel), another, Mr. Kenneth and Princess Hamabon William.

    EFCC claimed that the suspects fraudulently collected the money from Bamaiyi in parts as the “professional fees” charged by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to handle his (Bamaiyi’s) case in court and to facilitate his release from prison.

    The prosecution has listed about 10 witnesses including Bamaiyi and prison officials to give evidence in the matter.

  • EFCC seeks arrest of Cross Country boss, Okorodudu,

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday asked a Lagos High court  sitting in Ikeja for a bench warrant for the arrest of the Chairman of Cross Country boss, Chief Bube Okorodudu.

    The request was sequel to the failure of the defendant to appear in court for his trial the second time.

    At the resumed hearing of his trial on Monday before the court presided by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, counsel to the EFCC, Emmanuel Jackson asked the court to issue a bench warrant against the defendant.

    The EFCC contended that for two occasions, Okorodudu failed to show up in court to take his plea on the charges filed against him.

    Counsel to Okorodudu, Chief Robert Clarke (SAN) however objected to the application for bench warrant against his client.

    Chief Clarke insisted that there is a subsisting application by his client challenging the jurisdiction of the court on the charges preferred against Okorodudu by the EFCC.

    He argued that the proper procedure was for the court to first resolve the issue of jurisdiction before ruling on EFCC’s application for bench warrant.

    Chief Clarke submitted that the court cannot make pronouncement on a case where  its jurisdiction is still been challenged.

    After listening to both counsel, Justice Lawal-Akapo directed the two counsels  to provide the court with relevant authorities to assist him in his ruling on the issue.

    He subsequently adjourned the matter till April 8, 2014 for ruling.

    The EFCC had charged Okorodudu before the court over his alleged involvement in a N82.9 million theft.

    The commission alleged that Okorodudu and his company  stole a sum of N82.9m which was the sales proceeds of  17 units of Volkswagen transporter buses belonging to AG Moeller Limited.

    In the charge signed Mr. Francis Usani, the commission had alleged that Okorodudu stole the money from AG Moeller between February 13, 2008 and August 14, 2009.

    The EFCC claimed the buses were fraudulently sold to GMT Nigeria Limited; Multichoice Nigeria Limited; and Law Union and Rock/TFS Finance Limited.

    Okorodudu was said to have forged a document titled, ‘Nigeria Customs Service Motor Vehicle Duty Certicificate’ with number A008911777 to facilitate the alleged stealing.

    The alleged stealing offence contravenes Section 390 of the Criminal Code Cap. C17 Vol. 2 Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.

    EFCC further claimed that other offences of forgery and uttering violated provisions of Sections 467 and 468 of the same law, respectively.

  • Tunji Egbetokun projects Dimeji Bankole

    Tunji Egbetokun projects Dimeji Bankole

    THAT the former speaker, House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, has been acquitted of contract inflation is not news. The gist now is that the Ogun State-born politician is leaving no stone unturned to launch himself back into political reckoning. The former speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Tunji Egebtokun, has been the arrow head of the project to oil the political machinery.

    Bankole has been shuttling between Abeokuta and Abuja since his travails with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, immediately after his tenure at the House of Representatives.

  • Alleged Fraud: EFCC invades Owo FMC

    Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday stormed the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, over alleged fraud in the institution.

    The EFCC officials, it was gathered stormed the hospital to verify the claims of the FMC’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Abiodun Omotosho, that the institution’s management had purchased CT scans and other equipments worth several millions of naira.

    The visit by the commission’s operatives was sequel to the petition written by some medical doctors of the hospital against the management, claiming diversion of the money meant for the purchase of CT scans and other medical equipments to the hospital.

    Sources at FMC revealed that the EFCC officials who went straight to the CMD’s office did not meet him on seat but met his secretary who claimed the Director was attending a crucial meeting.

    The Nation gathered that the EFCC operatives became suspicious of the secretary’s claims and threatened to arrest her if she fails to tell the truth.

    A source said the FMC boss had pre- knowledge of the EFCC’s visit and when the operatives arrived at the hospital, his informants hinted him and he quitely sneaked out before the commission’s operatives got to his office.

     

  • Bankole’s vindication, challenge to EFCC

    Bankole’s vindication, challenge to EFCC

    SIR: The recent discharge and acquittal of Honourable Dimeji Bankole, erstwhile Speaker of House of Representatives, calls to question the efficacy or otherwise of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). In 2011, the commission made a big issue of Bankole’s arrest, creating a mole hill out of nothing by deploying virtually all police personnel available in Abuja to arrest just a single soul. When he was arraigned in court, the road leading to the court and its main entrance were barricaded by fierce-looking riot policemen and other security forces, as if Abuja was under emergency rule. The gun-wielding policemen and other security personnel were everywhere within the court complex. Most Nigerians condemned this show of force to arrest just a single person, as if he is a common felon.

    But EFCC’s “meticulousness” during Bankole’s arrest vanished in the two courts where he was docked. That a man could win in two different courts speaks volume of the inability of EFCC to prosecute cases, but rather engage in media war. While Bankole’s trial lasted, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) said he saw nothing wrong if Bankole borrowed to run the House of Representatives, he would and must have the means of payment. The war on corruption cannot be fought on the pages of newspapers but much on practical approaches to issues and not the personality involved, and more importantly is the record time at which this case was pursued. Then, one begins to wonder why the trial of former governors like Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu), Mohammed Abdullahi (Nassarawa), Abubakar Audu (Kogi), etc has remained in a cul-de-sac. If, as EFCC would claim, the former governors are scuttling their trial by employing frivolous applications, is this endless? Or has EFCC lost the steam and/idea to pursue these cases?

    EFCC should rise to the challenge by doing its homework before rushing someone to the court. This will guard against wasting tax payers’ resources. They should not act on the spur of the moment or on rumours. Instead, they should ensure rock-solid evidence that can secure a conviction before arraigning someone in court, and most importantly, not a media war. EFCC should be alive to its responsibilities, and not following the crowd.

     

    • Badejo Adedeji Nurudeen

    Surulere, Lagos State.

     

  • Subsidy scam: Oil marketer loses bid to quash charges

    An oil marketer, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, has lost in his bid to quash the N4.4 million subsidy fraud charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja on Tuesday declined to strike out an application filed by Ogunbambo, seeking to quash the fuel subsidy fraud charges preferred against him and three others by the commission.

    The judge dismissed the application for lacking in merit.

    Those charged by the EFCC alongside Ogunbambo are – Mamman Ali, son of Dr. Ahmadu Ali, a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Christian Taylor and their firm – Nassaman Oil Services Limited.

    Ogunbambo was however absent in court on Tuesday.

    In the application filed by his counsel, R.A Oluyede, the defendant had prayed the court to quash all the charges and information filed against him for lack of jurisdiction.

    The application brought pursuant to Sec 66(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and supported by a 26 paragraphs affidavit deposed to by one Kunle Shote, also urged the court to discharge him.

    Responding to the application on point of law, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, asked the court to dismiss the application on the ground that it is premature at this stage when plea had been taken by the defendant and trial had commenced.

    Oyedepo said the issue of competency of the charge cannot be raise at the stage when the prosecution has not close its case and had only called three witnesses, adding that it cannot be said that the information filed against the defendant is an abuse of court process.

    Justice Onigbanjo in his short ruling dismissed the application for lacking in merit.

     

  • So, Jonathan is nice?

    So, Jonathan is nice?

    What was Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank on Nigeria on President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    Not a few Nigerians would be surprised that the former boss of Nigeria’s apex bank could have some nice things to say about the president given his strident criticism of the administration, especially its lack luster fight against corruption.

    I am a bit surprised myself but then I remember this wasn’t the first time I would be hearing such a comment being made about the president. I’ve heard from quite a number of people who are very close to him or have access to him that Dr Jonathan is a very good person who meant well for this country but is surrounded by bad people. And each time I hear this I get annoyed. Why should a good man surround himself with bad people?

    Being soft spoken, courteous and nice to people are part of the qualities of a good person, but being good goes beyond that. The ability to attract good people to oneself is also a sign of goodness. You know a man’s character by the kind of company he keeps. Show me your friend, the cliché goes, and I will tell you who you are.

    True, according to Shakespeare there is no art in knowing the mind’s construction from the face, but then if one was deceived by the blandness or innocence of the face it shouldn’t take too long for a good man to discover the bad or rotten person around him.

    It has been a while now that President Goodluck Jonathan has mounted the saddle as Nigeria’s president and leader, and from day one, he has surrounded himself with some characters that not a few Nigerians are not comfortable with, yet he found them good company. What does that say of the president himself? Take the example of the former Minister of Aviation Madam Stella Oduah. I am not sure if there is anybody in this country who does not know that Stella was and still is Goodluck’s friend and it was mainly on the strength of that friendship that she was made a minister of the Federal Republic. She was so good to Jonathan particularly through her ‘Neighbour-to-Neighbour’ organization in the run up to the president’s election that he just had to compensate her for being there for him and she was made a Minister.

    Nothing wrong in that I guess, after all you work well with people that you know and trust. But not too long after, this woman became a square peg in a round hole and almost everybody except the president saw this and complained; to Jonathan, Stella could do no wrong. Even the President didn’t see anything wrong when the two BMW limousine scandal involving the former Minister and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) broke out. Not even the House of Representatives’ or the Presidency’s administrative panel indictment was enough to convince him to drop his friend.

    When he eventually did a couple of weeks ago, many believe it was just a desperate measure to rescue his seemingly doomed second term ambition; not out of conviction to fight corruption. The allegations against Madam Oduah are weighty enough to have warranted her immediate removal or suspension from office but the President chose not to act until he discovered that leaving Stella in office would be an unnecessary baggage that could jeopardize his re-election in 2015. Reluctantly, Stella had to go and for now scot-free.

    If Jonathan is such a good man as we are being told, then he shouldn’t have surrounded himself with the likes of Madam Oduah. Yes, nothing has been proven against the former Minister yet but the President would help Nigeria and his cause by releasing the report of the administrative panel that probed the car scandal and allow the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to handle the case and any other alleged cases of corruption involving her without any pressure or interference.

    If the President is such a good person then why is he still keeping Deziani Allison-Madueke as Minister of Petroleum with alleged cases of monumental corruption going on in that industry especially within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). We’ve heard about 20 billion USD oil money reportedly missing for which the suspended CBN Governor was apparently being punished. Forget about the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria report on Sanusi’s CBN, it was just a convenient excuse to ease out a pain in the arse. Why wait till now to act on the council’s report that had been ready since March.

    This is not excusing Sanusi from accounting for his tenure as CBN Governor. If he had done anything wrong, particularly fraudulent, he should be punished. I am not one of his fans, but why punish him now after blowing the whistle on the missing oil money? And why not all those people involved in the missing money as well?

    The fraud in the oil industry dates back to the discovery of oil in Nigeria and has seemingly defied all actions taken by successive administrations to curb it. Most if not all of Jonathan’s predecessors are guilty, but then none of them has been described as nice the way Jonathan is being portrayed. So, if he is a nice and good person, then he should get rid of those bad people in our oil industry; he should start from his cabinet.

    If Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the coordinating Minister for the Economy as well as Finance Minister (whatever that meant) is sitting there comfortably with all these fraud allegations flying around, then I am afraid, she too had joined them. May be she is one of those bad people surrounding our ‘nice’ President.

    There are still many of them like that parading the corridors of power in Abuja. But like I asked earlier, why should a good person surround himself with bad people? The answer is simple, he too must be bad because like minds work together.

    Today we speak well of the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello even after they are no more because of the good things they did when they were in power or had access to power. They didn’t achieve all those good things alone, they were helped by the good people they invited into their government. So, if Jonathan cannot attract or invite good people into his government, then he himself is bad. Shikena.

    One last thing to add. We’ve heard so much about how good and nice President Jonathan is, but people are not coming out to talk about his unforgiving spirit. I heard he doesn’t forgive. If you are in doubt ask former Bayelsa Governor Timi Silva or his namesake Timi Alaibe the former NDDC boss. Both are from Bayelsa State like President Jonathan. What a nice man!

     

     

  • ‘Police, EFCC, ICPC, others do not need permission to probe judicial officers’

    ‘Police, EFCC, ICPC, others do not need permission to probe judicial officers’

    In the past, law enforcement agencies blamed their inability to investigate and prosecute corrupt judges on lack of approval by the National Judicial Council (NJC) or Chief Judges of the states where the judges serve. In this interview with Precious Igbonwelundu, Mr Norrison Quakers (SAN) says no such permissions are required. He also speaks on corruption in the judiciary and judicial officers receiving gifts, among others.

    Corruption in the judiciary has been a burning issue for a long time with many judges facing probe. But nothing has been done regarding serving judicial officers receiving gifts. Is that not corruption?

    Of course, it is corruption and an infraction on Paragraph 6 of the Code of Conduct for public officers. If a judge is found to have bridged his oath of allegiance, he can be sanctioned. The Code of Conduct Bureau is responsible for prosecuting such a judge because he is a public officer. The challenge we have is that the agencies responsible for prosecution are not living up to their responsibilities.

    When an allegation of corruption is made, we have agencies to investigate and once there is overwhelming fact at the completion of investigation, the agency should have the judge arrested.

    I was in court on a certain day before a judge and a lawyer told her to her face “I have done a petition against you. You cannot proceed with this matter.” Traditionally, it is unheard of. The late Justice Kayode Eso once said that during their time, when a lawyer makes far-reaching allegations against a judge, he is sent to prison, but today, when a lawyer makes far-reaching allegations against a judge, the judge says “go to hell”.

    So, what that suggests to us is that there is provision for a platform for a lawyer to make such an allegation. In as much as I do not agree with the conduct of being confrontational with a judge, but for any lawyer who says such things, perhaps he spoke from an informed position of what must have transpired between them.

    It is a known fact that the prosecution agencies cannot arrest any judge without the approval of the National Judicial Council (NJC) or the permission of the Chief Judge of a state where the judge works. So how will these agencies operate?

    We must remind ourselves that the Chief Judge is an administrative head of a court. The agencies of government saddled with the responsibility to investigate do not need their approval to investigate judges. All that is required is a notification that complain has been made against a judge and the enforcement agency is investigating that judge.

    The outcome of that investigation is also not given to a Chief Judge, but to the NJC to take disciplinary measures such as dismissal or suspension against the judge. For a judge indicted for corruption or criminal offence, his punishment is double- first he will face the NJC’s administrative punishment of either a suspension or dismissal and then, he also faces prosecution by law enforcement agencies. Prosecutorial agencies act mainly on complain and so, once these complains are made to them, it is done with utmost confidentiality until the facts are unraveled.

    Is it right for a serving judge to write and launch a book or launch one written in his/her honour such that politicians/litigants with matters before them attend and make public donations?

    Following the provisions of the Constitution, it is wrong. Books written or launched in their honour are gifts and as stated earlier, the Code of Conduct for public officers frowns at it. If you launch a book, the tendency is that you will not be able to draw the line between those who have matters before you and those who do not, except for notorious cases. If that is the case, then, it is not out of place to allege compromise. What is the essence of the maiden of justice wearing a blindfold? It is to dispense justice without fear or favour.

    What if you have a matter before you and suddenly realise that one of the parties in the suit was perhaps the highest donor during your book launch? What happens? Ordinarily, the rule of natural justice says a judge should let go of a matter he has an interest in. But as human beings can a judge shut his eyes to someone who attended his book launch and gave him money?

    That is why that provision is there to ensure that under no circumstance should a public officer accept gifts in connection to the performance of duty. So, I think it is wrong.

    In addition to the book launch issue, it is also wrong for judges to compile and publish judgments they delivered for money. If a judge is gifted to write, it is good because I know a particular sitting judge in Ogun State. A fantastic judge and auhor; sometimes, I wonder how he finds the time to write. He has written several books, but has never done a book launch. His books are available in court premises and at notable bookshops.

    He is not even involved in the sale of the books. He writes them and gives them to publishers to sell. There is also a judge of a Court of Appeal who is also an author. He is a professor of law, highly cerebral, but has never launched any of his books.

    But some judges have developed the habit of doing a compendium of the judgments they have delivered and organise a book launch. Those judgments being put together, either by the judges or those who did it in their honour, do not belong to the judges especially for sitting judges.

    As public officers, they are being paid salaries with tax payers’ money to conduct proceedings and deliver judgments. Whatever they come up with belong to the state and cannot be given out without the permission of the state.

    But at retirement, a judge can do a book launch for posterity in which some of his judgments may be reproduced. People like Lord Denin and a few others did, though not the way we now make it appear.

    As a people, we like to abuse things in this country. It is not out of place for a retired judge to launch a book, nor is it out of place for a serving judge to write a book. It is in avoidance of infractions of the provisions of law that is why public officers are discouraged from engaging in such activities.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo started this practice while in office with the launch of his presidential library with corporate giants, who made public donations in attendance. It is very wrong, and clearly an infraction of the constitution. But nothing was done about it. Who will go for instance, to arrest the then president that launched a presidential library? The corporate giants that donated at the event were people who ordinarily had no business being there because some of them were contractors to the government, but what happened? Our laws are being abridged with impunity and no one does anything about it. Whatever is given to a representative of an institution while in office, according to the Code of Conduct, belongs to that institution.

    Would you say there is no head way in fighting corruption in the judiciary?

    I won’t say there is no head way in addressing corruption in the judiciary. When we talk about the judiciary, we should not limit it to judges. There are three major stakeholders in the administration of justice. They are judges, lawyers and prosecutorial agents.

    We must not isolate the judges in alleging corruption. Now, who corrupts the judges? You could have a situation where a judge is inherently corrupt, no doubt. But who fuels the corruption? It is either a lawyer or an enforcement agency/agent that fuels the corruption.

    However, it is not as bad as it used to be. We are not there yet, but the current Chief Judge of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar has done quite a lot. Mind you, corruption has been institutionalised in our system and it is not what an individual can clear. She has done her bit by trying to sanitise the system. Under her watch, many judges are being investigated, some have been shown the door and also lawyers have been disciplined.

    So, I won’t say corruption in the judiciary has continued unabated. It is difficult to completely eradicate corruption, but it can be managed and reduced to the barest minimum. What I think is happening now is the more you look, the less you see.

    How do we solve the problem?

    What I think we should do is strengthen the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the law enforcement agencies. Also, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) needs to set up a strategy that will be responsible for keeping the court under some watch. There is a young man (lawyer) who has been trying to keep the system under some watch through his magazine. Rightly or wrongly, some of us have come to also see some of those things he has been blowing whistles about. Irrespective of how stakeholders in the judiciary see him, the question to ask is if his work is effective. I think he has not done badly. Because once the young man is around certain quarters, people are mindful of the things they do or say. We need to have a watchdog of the judiciary so that once something goes wrong, there are whistle blowers who will give the information to appropriate quarters.

    Once such a facility is put in place, people will sit up and confidence will return to the judiciary.

    Are you saying people do not have confidence now?

    I can say the society still has confidence in the judiciary. In some cases, you have judges who are fearless and allow justice take its cause. But my fear is because of the allegations of corruption and the role the NJC is playing by accepting all kinds of petitions, some judges are now afraid of doing justice for fear of petition.

    A lawyer loses a case before a judge, instead of filing an appeal; such a lawyer writes a petition against the judge to the NJC. However, I would not say the situation is completely bad. The CJN at her swearing in, I remember, said corrupt judges would be investigated and handed over to prosecution agencies and I think she has been living up to her words.

    You and I know that a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Once the facts are established after thorough investigation, the persons involved would be handed to the enforcement agencies since the NJC does not have prosecutorial powers.

    Is there a law forbiding judges from fraternising?

    There is no particular law per say, but there are judicial ethics and rule for judicial officers in terms of interaction. That is where the National Judicial Institute (NJI) and the NJC come in. Part of the training and re-orientation of judges is to inculcate those values in them. In the past, you do not find judges in social circles because it is part of their training and orientation. They imbibe these things at the NJI and they also have Code of Conduct of judicial officers handed down from the institute. When a lawyer is appointed a judge, the first place he is sent to is the NJI to imbibe those values.

    With the way judges are seen at social gatherings and dinners with some of them drinking or fraternising, will it be wrong to say those rules are no longer handed over to them?

    We must understand that judicial officers are also humans. Though, once a lawyer is elevated to a judicial officer, he/she is expected to make sacrifices, one of which is not being sociable. It is a price they pay for being judicial officers. It is personal, inherent and a self decision that must be made by each individual elevated to a judicial officer, whether as a magistrate or a judge.

    Some of us cannot go to the bench because of our nature. We know who we are. Once you take and accept that decision of being a judicial officer and swear the oath of office, a line is drawn and you have selected to live an isolated life. The only people that can relate with you are probably your family and very close friends. You must be far from the social circles because you do not want to be influenced when you find yourself in such gatherings.

    A cousin of mine once said she saw a friend of hers (Justice Nwodo of blessed memory) at a function and she noticed the judge was isolated from the crowd. It was a social function, but justice Nwodo did not interact. My cousin said out of curiosity, she walked up to her and asked if she was a judicial officer and she said yes. It was a gathering to honour their close friend, but she was just secluded and eventually left unannounced in the course of the ceremony. That is a judicial officer.

    Those who are garrulous and friendly, I cannot on the basis of the conduct of a particular judge; say what they are doing is wrong. It amounts to who you are. Can you draw the line? There are people like Justice Uwais, who can be smiling and at the same time insist on his position. You cannot on the basis of your friendship with him, influence him. With a smile, he will tell you no. Then, for some of them, it is only now that they are retired that they interact with the society as a whole. For me, the vices in the judiciary these days are more of human errors than the laws.

    So how do we address these vices?

    I think those who observe the excesses should report and let the NJC and NJI recall the judges for refresher courses. The judicial office is like a tunnel and the journey through the tunnel cannot be cut short at the middle. The officers must work through the tunnel to the end and must be very sensitive, sensible and extremely careful.

    Like I said earlier, we need to have whistle blowers, not necessarily for the purpose of punishment, but as corrective measures. We cannot afford to continually showcase our judiciary to the worlds as being corrupt because it will drive away investors. Monitors should be put in place to nip in the bud those who fuel corruption or influence judges.

    Do you think it is right for politicians to play a role in the appointment of judicial officers?

    In so far as the executive plays a role in the appointment of judges, there will always be loyalty problems. There is a human element involved. If someone is responsible for my elevation, as a human being, I will be eternally grateful to that person. Some politicians will do it and not want a favour in return, whereas, others will do it and use it as an avenue to achieve their selfish aims. It still boils down to the kind of people we are. We must learn to do things without expecting a reward or benefit. We are in a very vindictive society such that someone can take advantage of his or her position to do another wrong. When a politician is influential to a judge’s appointment and needs a favour from the said judge, once the judge declines, the politician starts looking for a way to pull the judge down. I think it is time we stopped the executive from playing any role in the appointment of judges, but the constitution will have to be amended in order to achieve that. We also need to cage human tendencies, until we get to a point where a judge can look a litigant in the eye and do justice, no matter who he is, we have a long way to go.

     

  • Ajudua’s bail application stalled

    The Lagos High Court, Ikeja, on Thursday failed to hear the bail application filed by Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua, due to power outage.

    The court presided over by Justice Kudirat Jose had hardly sat for five minutes when the court room was thrown into darkness due to the power outage.

    Justice Jose had been scheduled to hear the bail application filed by Ajudua.

    The judge conducted part of the proceedings in darkness for about five minutes before suspending the exercise.

    She has however adjourned further hearing on the application to March 12.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Ajudua to court for allegedly defrauding two Dutchmen – Remy Cina and Pierre Vijgen, of $1.69 million between July 1999 and September 2000

    Ajudua and co-defendant, Charles Orie were first arraigned by the EFCC before Justice Olubunmi Oyewole in 2003.

    They were however re-arraigned before Justice Jose on a four-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining of money by false pretence and inducing payment by false pretence.

    The transfer of the case to Justice Jose was necessitated by the withdrawal of the former trial judge, Justice Joseph Oyewole, from the case, due to the redeployment of High Court Judges.