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Tag: Judiciary

  • Buhari Vs Judiciary

    President Buhari desperately needs our help and support because most well-meaning Nigerians believe the failure of his government is not an option. This has become more imperative in the wake of the current stand-off between him and the Bench and the Bar. He needs protection not only from those who do not know ‘there are many ways of killing a hen other than cutting the throat’, who according to his other half, have hijacked his government, but also from the same set of self-serving social crusaders and human right activists who not too long ago advised him not to consider the hijacking of the Senate leadership by Saraki and Ekwerenmadu a threat to his government but as an act of brinkmanship healthy for the development of democracy. They are now on the prowl this time around exploiting technicalities to demonise government and DSS while ignoring the pursuit of justice, which is the end of law.

    One thing Buhari has going for him in this stand-off is his integrity. As the chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), recently reminded us, “A corrupt judiciary is an invitation to anarchy. It is a sin against humanity”.  We therefore, according to him, need a ‘judiciary with integrity and honour and the judiciary with moral authority similar to what obtained in the golden era Supreme Court  such as Eso, Oputa, Nnamani, Idigbe, Mohammed Bello, Obaseki  who freely ruled against military dictatorships’. It was also a relief to have been reminded by Prof Owasanoye of PACAC that “the National Security Act empowers DSS to arrest and to use reasonable force if the owner of the house resists. In this instance, they have followed the law.” At least one of the affected judges has so far admitted hearing continuous banging at his door but chose to retire to his bedroom and wait.

    Unlike some of our self-serving social crusaders who hide under the rule of law to protect criminals, other critics of DSS’ method and government reaction like professor Akin Oyebode, a noble lawyer and law teacher who is passionate about the role of law in society admitted in a recent lecture titled, ‘The Integrity of Law’, that ‘it seems the noxious fumes of corruption are now being smelt even within the temple of justice.’ A corrupt judge according to him “is worse than an armed robber and must be given the hemlock”. To protect the integrity of the judiciary, he has advocated substituting the ‘dysfunctional British approach to French approach’

    And as for those who claim DSS attack on alleged corrupt judges is a threat to democracy, I think they have chosen to ignore the fact that we live a lie believing we have democracy. Democracy cannot exist where one leg of the tripod that holds it in place –the legislature has been hijacked by self-serving clique. (Saraki narrated how he outwitted his 51 APC elected senators only to be adopted Senate President by the opposition while Ekweremadu publicly admitted how he and PDP stalwarts literarily ‘stole’ a position which by convention belongs to the ruling party with a majority). Add to this a judiciary without a moral authority and a press that is highly compromised, what you get is not democracy but a mirage.

    Instead of living a lie, the only option before us is to see democracy as a process that is attainable through a leader like President Buhari who is driven by good intentions. And for those who are quick to say ‘the road to hell is filled with good intentions’, I ask, show me one nation that has ever progressed without a leader who believes in miracles. Not China, not Japan, and definitely not America built on the conviction of leaders with good intentions. Besides Buhari’s commitment to fighting corruption, he has a good intention to pursue justice for the greater good of society. History has also shown the judiciary thrives more under such circumstances.

    Sobered by his prison experience and scandalized by the level of corruption his military colleagues left behind, Obasanjo probably believed he was the messiah (he had said MKO Abiola was not) destined to rid Nigeria of corruption and corrupt elements. He set up the EFCC as an anti-corruption body and started the crusade by putting an Inspector General of Police who had converted billions earmarked for the welfare of the police to personal use, in chains. Some of his ministers were imprisoned. One Senate President after the other faced corruption charges. More than two third of governors elected on his PDP platform were put on trial. He engineered the impeachment of Ayo Fayose and Dariye. With the help of his friends in the Amnesty International, Alamieyeseigha was chased from France to London where it was revealed he had ‘accumulated properties, bank accounts, investments and cash exceeding £10m in value’, portfolio of foreign assets which included accounts with five banks in the UK, accounts with banks in Cyprus, Denmark and the United States; four London properties acquired for a total of £4.8m; a Cape Town harbour penthouse acquired for almost £1m, , and almost £1m in cash stored in one of his London properties. He was eventually indicted by a Nigerian court.

    Some other governors dragged to court before leaving office in 2007 include  Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Jolly Nyame (Taraba), Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia), Saminu Turaki (Jigawa), the late Audu Abubakar (Kogi), Timipreye Sylva (Bayelsa), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Adebayo  Alao-Akala (Oyo), Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo), Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu), Gbenga Daniel (Ogun), Aliyu Akwe Doma (Nasarawa), Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa).

    Then President Jonathan took over the reins of power with neither dreams nor good intention. He was hijacked by the same set of self serving human right lawyers and social crusaders. The cases were discontinued. The hunter became the hunted as Ribadu was chased out of the country. Ibori now serving a 13-year jail term got a reprieve from an Asaba court and installed his own preferred EFCC chairman. The result was the reversal of Obasanjo’s gains on corruption.

    If our society must move forward, we need strong leadership with good intention to checkmate criminal elements we all agree exist on the bench and the bar  which after admitting ‘the responsibility of the bar is first to the bar’,  engaged in commercialization of the old criminal act to shield thieves that have stolen the country blind.

    The reaction of NJC so far has confirmed the need for a strong leader with good intention to serve as deterrence to the judiciary that believes it is beyond reproach because of the doctrine of separation of powers. If indeed DSS resorted to self-help which is not the case in view of its powers as spelt out in the provision of the new Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the NJC has also served as a judge in its own cases by dismissing investigated cases of corruption against judges by DSS. If anything, this position is validated by NJC’s current refusal to suspend judges in whose bedrooms huge sums of money, according to DSS, were found because it abhorred its (DSS) method.

    The effect of the absence of a strong credible leadership to serve as deterrence to the excesses of the judiciary is self-evident. Following the bizarre Supreme Court pronouncement on Fayose and its refusal to accept its infallibility as advised by the late Justice Oputa by taking advantage of evidence the military has used to sanitise itself, Fayose has come back with a vengeance, supervising thugs who beat up judges, chasing out elected lawmakers from the state and going into his state House of Assembly to approve his own budget. Last week in Port Harcourt, Wike who according to respected Itse Sagay, the election tribunal court, the Court of Appeal, except the Supreme Court, rode on the back of militants who preferred violence to the use of electronic voter card reader to power, was reported to have brought lorry load of thugs at 1 am to prevent the arrest of suspected corrupt judge.

  • Ondo poll: Group warns judiciary against complicity 

    The Coalition for Stable Democracy (CSD), an alliance of pro-democracy groups, has urged the National Judicial Council( NJC) to ensure that the interest of justice is served in the struggle for the governorship slot in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The group said the judiciary should not allow itself to be used to subvert people’s will.

    CSD said the ruling delivered by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja was a miscarriage of justice.

    Justice Abang had last Friday ruled that the name of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, be substituted with that of Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim in a controversial ruling that has now been appealed.

    In a statement jointly signed by Victor Aderibigbe and Abdullahi Sanni, National Co-ordinator and Secretary respectively, the coalition said the event of 1983 political crisis in Ondo State would be a child’s play if the judiciary allowed itself to be used to truncate the people’s will.

    The group alleged that the ruling was part of plot to deprive Jegede’s candidacy to brighten the chance of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the election in Ondo State.

    CSD said: “Let it be made clear that Ondo State is a peaceful state, but we are hasty to warn that the people there should not be taken for granted. With the experience of the political crisis that engulfed  the state during the Ajasin/Omoboriowo saga, Ondo election should be treated with utmost caution.

    “We are therefore calling on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to pay serious attention to allegations of miscarriage of justice levelled against Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja, in which he ruled that Mr. Eyitayo Jegede’s name be substituted with that of Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim.

  • Judiciary in a dilemma

    Judiciary in a dilemma

    I can still visualize the televised visage of retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo sometime in 1995 while he was defending the charge of plotting a coup with his hand supporting his chin while his elbow rested on his bent knee as he probed the faces of his traducers who were by far, junior officers to him as they conducted his trial following what later became known as a phantom coup. Unbelievably, four years later, Obasanjo, became a civilian head of state, straight from the prison where he was serving a life term for conspiring to overthrow Gen. Sani Abacha who had died suddenly.

    The above story will somewhat resonate, at least in form, if the State Security Services (SSS) successfully carries out its threat to charge the two recently arrested and released Supreme Court Justices and the five others judges before a magistrate court over allegations of corrupt enrichment. Of note, there is a provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which permits the kind of ‘lawful terror’ visited on the Justices of the Supreme Court and the other judges by the SSS over what shockingly, looks like a seamy and grave  allegations of corruption.

    As happened in Obasanjo’s case, the story was that the former head of state was tried under the wide provisions of a decree which he enacted while he was in power as military leader. Presently, I doubt, if the judges now under the searchlight, and our other privileged Nigerians, who may soon be dealt with, in like manner, ever envisaged that a ‘big man’, like a judge could become a victim of the very expansive provisions of the ACJA, on the time, manner and procedure of conducting a search or effecting an arrest.

    No doubt, the SSS by its modus operandi intended to send very strong shockwaves to the entire judiciary and the judges in particular. Of course, the measure has successfully put the judiciary in the spotlight; it has also temporary demystified the hallowedness and sacredness of the person of a judge and for some time to come, judges and the judiciary will remain the butt of jokes. Other judges, especially those who have corruptly enriched themselves, would also be scared that their sins may be unearthed. Again, aggrieved Nigerians, especially those who have suffered unjustly from any unjust judgment, or the extortion induced by a corrupt judge, would feel a little better, by the recent events.

    Furthermore, other Nigerians who believe that the judiciary needs a surgical operation to stem corrupt practices would jump up believing that at last, something drastic is in the offing. They would be excited as they read in the papers and the combustible social media how the senior judges accused of corruption were disgraced. They would hope that going forward, the judiciary may soon be so cleaned up, that the undue delay in our courts would end and the unfair and inequitable judicial process that aides the rich while making justice expensive and substantially unavailable for the poor, will soon end.

    As a senior member of the legal profession, I confess that I am very embarrassed, by the grave allegations of corruption levelled against the judges so far named. Even while there have always been allegations of corruption against our judges, and indeed many so-called judicial pronouncements from our courts over the years to confirm the malignancy of corruption within the judiciary, it beggars belief to explain the level of abuse which the SSS’ alleged findings suggests. Yet, if the allegations by the SSS are true even by a half, then our country is in a graver predicament than we envisaged.

    But, while the drama of mid-night arrests, and the furtive excitement that it bodes may scratch the overwhelming frustration from our challenged judicial system, I am yet to see any concrete plans to gift our country a modern, transparent and efficient judiciary. As I am wont to argue, the change we deserve must begin from the purveyors of the change. While many still repose confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari, what about those working closely with him, some of who have allegedly soiled their hands, and yet they retain their position and join the senior lawyers in the federal executive council, which we are told, supported the raid, on the residence of the judges.

    Yes, the recent drama gives the public something to cheer about; but what amendments to our laws and the constitution has the present government suggested to bring efficiency to our judiciary? Of course, the learned senior advocates in the federal executive council cannot pretend not to know that it is only the National Judicial Council that is empowered by the 1999 constitution as amended, to discipline the judges named, even when there is alleged mountain of evidence against them. Also, that it is also only the council that can recommend the sacking of any of the judges to the President. If the NJC as constituted is inefficient, has the executive arm forwarded a bill to effect the necessary amendments to aid their efficiency?

    Indeed, many commentators have questioned the integrity of the SSS, and have raised questions begging for answer. They have asked how the SSS could call what took place a sting operation, even when they also claimed to have been openly investigating the judges, for some weeks. One commentator also asked how the SSS could know the sum in the house of the federal judge, resident in Rivers State, since Governor Nyesom Wike, acting brazenly like the SSS, forestalled any search on the judge’s house. There is also the case of Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, appointed last year, whom some informed opinion claimed, is merely being victimized, for his judicial pronouncements, which the SSS found unpalatable.

    Despite the claims by the SSS, many are still asking: is it possible that such hundreds of millions of naira, and thousands of foreign currencies, were actually warehoused by the judges in their houses, as alleged, in what ordinarily should be an extension of the sacred chambers of the judges? So, while the manner of the intrusion of the SSS is very offensive, are there prima facie evidence of the kind of monumental corruption levied against the law lords? If there are, then the judges involved have failed our country, and the NJC should quickly recommend their retirement, so that they can face the law.

    Many also hold a strong opinion that the NJC is to be blamed for the recent embarrassment considering the claim by the SSS that despite the weighty petitions made against the errant judges, the NJC failed to act. Indeed, as rightly posited by many, a corrupt judge is worse than a legislative or executive looter, or any criminal for that matter; for while the others offend the law, the corrupt judge, grafts the imprimatur of the law on his criminality. So, even while it is tragic that the SSS may have scandalized the judiciary by its disregard of the powers of the NJC, it is a national tragedy that judges could be accused of possibly joining the other seamy arms of government to seek the final destruction of our country.

     

  • Invasion of judiciary: The dialectics

    Invasion of judiciary: The dialectics

    The judiciary in Nigeria is enmeshed in serious dialectics. This is sequel to the invasion, by masked officials of the Department of Security Services DSS, of the homes of some judges across the country, arresting and detaining seven of them on allegations of corruption.

    Nigerian Bar Association NBA, civil society groups and other concerned individuals have condemned the commando-style of the abduction in utter disregard of extant regulations on the disciplining of judges- a statutory duty of the National Judicial Council NJC.

    There is palpable fear that a dangerous precedent with frightening prospects for compromising the independence of the judiciary and separation of powers was about to set in. But officials of the government including the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) have voiced support for the arrests arguing that the action was not an attack on the judiciary but against corruption within the system. They bandied such arguments as: the arrested judges have no immunity against arrests and prosecution; they are not above the law and that the procedure for the arrests was in order since it was backed by warrants of arrest.

    No doubt, there is huge corruption within the judiciary. And for that arm of the government to live up to its statutory duties, an urgent purge of the bad eggs within is inevitable. Those who have volunteered opinion on the arrests are not so much worried about judges with allegations of corruption being brought to book. Their worry is that established procedure for carrying out that assignment is being observed in its breach.

    Equally in contention is the correctness of the action of the DSS in dabbling into the arrest and detention of judges in flagrant disregard of the rules for such a sensitive assignment. Moreover, the action has all the trappings of impunity; a usurpation of the powers of the NJC and an avoidable intrusion in the affairs of the judiciary by the executive.

    It could be another subterfuge by the executive to harass, intimidate and cow the judiciary to do its bidding. This prospect is further reinforced when it is realized that the DSS is an organ of the executive domiciled in the presidency. Being an agency of the executive, its neutrality and impartiality in the matter is suspect.

    Moreover, the laws creating the DSS charged it with the responsibility for the prevention and detection within Nigeria of “any crime against internal security of Nigeria”. It remains to be seen how allegations of corruption within the judiciary could be reasonably construed as a ‘crime against internal security of Nigeria’ warranting that kind of assault, unless the term is interpreted in a very loose sense.

    So, it is not just a matter of whether the DSS has a search warrant as government officials are wont to argue. Neither is it the issue of whether there has been a history of the arrest of a judge in this country. It also has nothing to do with whether judges have immunity against arrests and prosecution or not. These are not the reasons for the trepidation, suspicion and fury that have trailed that onslaught.

    The point is that by arresting and detaining serving judges outside of the recommendations of the NJC, the DSS merely embarked on a voyage smacking of nothing but impunity. Not only did it dabble into an unfamiliar turf, it has by that action seemingly presumed the judges guilty of the alleged offence even when they are still to face trials. That was the position the agency must have found itself that it had to release the judges on bail without delay.

    A judge so publicly exposed and disgraced cannot in all fairness go back to his job and command respect even when the court discharges him of the alleged breach. Or are we to assume as has been speculated in sections of the media that a return of some of them to their former positions has already been foreclosed? If this is so, then they have already been convicted before their arrests. And we ask by which institution: those that arrested them, their accusers or the courts?  That is the uncanny dilemma brought to the fore by the manner of the arrests. And the government will find it hard to resolve no matter how had it tries.

    The executive should have sufficiently interfaced with the leadership of the NJC, on a seamless way of contending with allegations of corruption within the nation’s judiciary where such exist. But from the accounts of that judicial body, all allegations of corruption and professional misconduct directed to it have been duly treated. So one is amazed at the claims that the DSS acted in the way it did for lack of cooperation from that body.

    In its reaction at the weekend, the NJC did not only put a lie to the claims by the DSS and government apologists but described the arrests and detention as an attempt to humiliate, intimidate, denigrate and cow the judiciary. This is very ominous and we cannot agree any less. For, nothing prevents a government that nurses some grouse with some judge hiding under the same subterfuge to decapitate the judiciary. And when this happens, democracy will be greatly imperiled.

    The NJC said contrary to claims, all petitions sent to it have been attended to and challenged the DSS to make public the names of judicial officials with petitions against them for which no action has been taken. It therefore views the action of the DSS as an assault on the entire judiciary. It is easy to discern between the DSS and the NJC who is telling the truth. Sadly, the harm has already been done and the nation exposed to ridicule in the eyes of the world.

    The case of Ghana where 20 judges were sacked not long ago has been cited to justify the action of the DSS. But those who raise this misled the public when they deliberately refused to highlight the sequence of events leading to the sacking of those judges. The judges were first suspended by Ghana’s National Judicial Council and a panel set up to investigate alleged infractions against them. Those sacked were found guilty by that country’s judicial council.

    That is precisely the direction that should have been fully explored here. It was seamless as it complied with extant rules and Ghanaians took them in good faith. The subversion of that process by the DSS and the contradictions it has thrown up are the issues we are contending with.

    It would appear the current face-off is a product of impatience with the system of government we operate.  We need to pause for a while, take a decision as to the governmental framework we actually run. We need to satisfy ourselves that what we are running is democracy with extant rules of engagement. If we come to terms with the reality that this is a democracy and not benevolent dictatorship, then we must be patient with its nuances, some of which may appear winding and slow in action.

    That appears to be the missing link. Impatience with established ways of conduct; shortcuts and quick-fixes account in the main, for the inability of democracy to take root and flourish on these shores. The issue is not as much with the system adopted as the dispositions and attitude of those who operate it. The difference lies in the patience of Ghanaian authorities with extant rules in contradistinction with the impatience and impunity of the DSS. The difference is in the people. That is the uncanny dialectics.

    For now, there appears a standoff between the NJC and the DSS. It would also seem the DSS has stirred the hornets’ nest and it remains to be seen how it can proceed with the matter in the days ahead. But the NJC must be bold, firm and resolute insisting on strict adherence to due process in handling petitions. Else, we create a monster that will turn around and consume us in the guise of fighting corruption. In saner climes, someone will suffer for this monumental national embarrassment and act of indiscretion. But not here!

     

     

  • CSOs support cleansing of judiciary

    CSOs support cleansing of judiciary

    A coalition of Civil Society Groups (CCSG) yesterday supported the Department of State Services (DSS) over the arrest of judges.

    The group also passed a vote of confidence on the Federal Government on its resolve to reduce corruption at all levels.

    CCSG President Etuk Bassey spoke during a protest in Abuja.

    He said the Federal Government, through genuine monetary policies such as Bank Verification Number (BVN) and Treasury Single Account (TSA), was striving to save the economy.

     He said: “We are in full support of the anti-corruption war of the president. we are in  support of what the Department of State Security (DSS) did, we must

    fight corruption nobody is above the law, everybody in Nigeria must be subjected to the constitution.”

    The coalition lauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for initiating policies towards addressing the economic hardship.

    The group blamed the recession on recklessness and poor planning of the past administrations.

  • Judiciary’s worst hour

    Unless we work in synergy to ensure that only fit and proper persons remain in our midst, it will be impossibe to expect a different Bench when its origin remains the same. I hereby call on NBA leadership to expunge from its ranks such persons whose conduct may be unfit, improper, dishonest or unethical —CJN Mohammed Mahmud

    Like a bolt out of the blue, security operatives stormed the homes of some superior court judges last weekend and arrested seven of them. Among the arrested were two Supreme Court Justices – Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro. Also arrested were Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya, who presides over the Ilorin branch of the Court of Appeal,  Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court,  Abuja, Enugu State Chief Judge, Justice I.A. Umezulike, Justice Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court and Justice Muazu Pindiga of Gombe State High Court.  Their lordships’ arrest has opened a new front in the anti-corruption campaign and also opened a debate on the propriety or otherwise of their arrest.

    Outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Mohammed Mahmud is livid over the matter. According to him, the arrest is ‘’saddening and unfortunate’’. The CJN believes the security operatives over reached themselves in raiding the homes of the judges and arresting them. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is raising hell too  over the matter, threatening fire and brimstone if the government does not apply the brakes in its clampdown on the judiciary. As every right thinking Nigerian knows, the judiciary is rotten and the rot did not just start today.  Sometime in the past, all eyes were on magistrates, but little did we know that  judges were a worse case.

    Many judges were dispensing justice without the fear of God. Only a few did their job conscientiously and without affection or ill will. Today, we are facing the consequences of keeping quiet in the face of large scale corruption by judges who did not mean well for the country.  It is a taboo worldwide for judges to receive gratification for job done. This is why judges are shielded from the public so that they are not tainted. But because of their love for money, some of them go out of their way to demand bribe from litigants. It will be dishonest of NJC and NBA to say they are not aware of the mess in the judiciary because it did not start today.

    To reform the judiciary in the wake of the June 12, 1993 crisis, the late Gen Sani Abacha, who seized power from the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government (ING) in  November of that year, constituted the Justice Kayode Eso-led panel. The panel’s terms of reference were wide and at the end of its sitting,  it recommended the sacking of 47 judges. For eight years, the report did not see the light of day. Following a review in 2002 by the Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin-led panel, six judges were sacked. We are in this mess today because NJC and NBA have always turned a blind eye to the issue of corruption. They have always allowed those accused of corruption to go free and sin no more.

    But often, these judges return to their vomit because they do not act alone. They have allies in the lawyers, who appear before them and in the top echelon of NJC. NJC and NBA  should blame themselves for what happened to the suspected corrupt judges. If they have acted the way they should, the Department of State Service (DSS) would not have taken over their job. Since they decided not to see evil or talk evil where corruption in the judiciary is concerned they should learn to live with their choice. We were all in this country when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused some lawyers of encouraging corruption in the judiciary. Rather than work with EFCC to fish out the bad eggs within its circle,  NBA resorted to a campaign of calumny against the commission.

    What we are seeing now is an indictment of NJC, especially, because it is responsible for the disciplining of judges. Unfortunately, it cannot act without a formal complaint against a judge. Even where there is a complaint,  NJC can destroy the case through its biased handling. It is because NJC cannot be trusted to handle the cases against its own that the security operatives moved in. If NJC had done what it should do,  we would not have seen the dirty linen of our judges being washed in public. Nevertheless, what is happening is for the good of the judiciary and our country. A corruption free judiciary will aid national development.

    We are at that stage of life where our judges should be able to look the bad guys in the face and tell them without mincing words that they are bad. We do not want judges that will look the corrupt in the face and wink at them with a slap on the wrist. What such a judgement suggests is that the judge must have been compromised. Many of such cases abound, but the one that easily comes to mind is that of Lucky Igbinedion, who after being found guilty of corruptly enriching himself with the money of Edo State was slapped with a N3.5 million fine based on a suspicious plea bargain. Why plea bargain with corrupt public officials when mere pepper and phone thieves are sentenced to long terms of imprisonment? EFCC is as guilty for that as the judiciary.

    Nobody should tell me that our laws are to blame. It is only in our country that we have two sets of laws – one for the rich and the other for the poor. Laws that punish the poor and allow the rich, who steal the country blind to go unpunished,  are no laws. Judges hide under the guise of interpreting these laws to extort money from the rich working through their lawyers. NJC will only be pretending if it claims not to know that these  are some of the tricks adopted by corrupt judges. Over the years, the council has been receiving petitions accusing judges of using their positions to enrich themselves.  What did it do beyond recommending such judges for sack so that they can go and enjoy their loot?

    Now the blood of the poor who have been cheated all these years through misapplied justice is crying for justice. If an armed robber could be executed for stealing N5000, why then should a pen robber be allowed to live after stealing N192 billion out of which he will give the judge N5 billion to buy his freedom? Man may be at home with injustice,  but God is not a God of injustice. Today has come because He wants to right the wrongs of the past. NJC and NBA cannot be happy because the security operatives have hit close to home. Justice Mahmud hit the nail on the head when he blamed the NBA for the rot in the judiciary at the association’s seminar on June 24, last year. Indeed, as he noted,  it is impossible to expect a different Bench when its origin (Bar) remains the same.  The NBA should heal itself instead of blowing hot air over the arrest of the suspected corrupt judges.

    If it had removed from its membership those described as unfit, improper and dishonest as advised by Justice Mahmud, it may have saved the judiciary of this shame. No amount of threat can change the fact that NBA ‘s failure to put its house in order over the years contributed heavily to the corruption in the judiciary. It is sad, terribly sad that judges are today being picked up from their homes like common criminals. NBA and NJC should also be troubled by this and not the propriety or otherwise of their lordships’ arrest. Being a judge does not confer immunity on you from arrest if you are  suspected of committing a crime.

  • Unearthing the mess in the judiciary

    Unearthing the mess in the judiciary

    SIR: A society where the last hope of the common man is reduced to an avenue where justice is peddled and sold to the corrupt and mighty is no better than Hobbesian society where lives are brutish, nasty and short. Here in Nigeria, the last hope of the common man has over the years been reduced to an epitome of crudity and unbridled greed.

    Nigerian judiciary has become a playground for professional politicians and their cronies who engage the services of highly influential personalities at the bar to get favourable judgments whenever they are charged to court for financial crimes or corrupt practices.

    In the past, judges were the conscience of the state; their judgments were pronounced without fear or favour, hence the reason the court of law is referred to as the last hope of the common man, not until they allowed themselves to be contaminated by the spoils in the political office. The rot in the Nigerian judiciary like decomposing corpse left to rot has been stinking to high heavens. Several cases abound where cash was exchanged for justice, where court injunctions/restraining order became the only language of the bench and in the process delayed and denied Nigeria justice. Those who were supposed to be in jail were acquitted, some on few occasions asked to pay a fine from their wallets or back of their boots.

    How can we make any meaningful progress in the war against corruption when the institution saddled with such responsibility is being used to manipulate and frustrate the process with hard currency induced judgments?

    The reported manhunt and arrest of those at the bench who have been alleged to have received bribe in hard currencies from desperate politicians to rule in their favour has unearthed the Augean of mess in the judiciary. It is a right step in the right direction but it shouldn’t be limited to judges alone; Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), court registrars and all those who have aided and abetted in thwarting justice in the past should also face the melody of prosecution, it will go a long way in sanitizing the system and restoring trust and confidence to the once revered and sacred judicial system.

    How and why the bench allowed themselves to be dragged by agents of corruption-infested politicians into the murky waters of politics is what many of these judges will be explaining to Nigerians in subsequent days when they appear in court, same court they have used to deny Nigeria justice. What an irony!

     

    • Joe Onwukeme,

    unjoeratedjoe@gmail.com

  • Akwa Ibom A-G: It’s wrong to label judiciary as corrupt

    Akwa Ibom A-G: It’s wrong to label judiciary as corrupt

    Akwa Ibom State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko, has faulted the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) chairman Ibrahim Magu for his comments on the judiciary and the legal profession.

    Speaking during the the state’s new legal year programme, Nwoko said it was wrong to lay all the blame for delays in prosecution of corruption cases on the judiciary.

    He said: “The Bar and the Bench have fallen heavily under the evil of attacks by all and sundry in our polity.

    “They have been considered as constituting clogs and fetters in the wheels of progress of the country, particularly now that the country is said to be focused on fighting corruption.’’

    Nwoko referred to the comments by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 31 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the judiciary was one of his “main headaches” in the  fight against corruption.

    Nwoko also referred to a statement made by the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is “populated by rogues and vultures”.

    Uwujaren was reacting Mahmoud’s call that the EFCC be stripped of its prosecutorial powers.

    Nwoko said: “The danger inherent in this sad comment about the judiciary as held out to the international community by the Nigerian president is that the judiciary is a promoter of corruption.”

    Nwoko said the judiciary, which plays a critical role in a democracy, should not be entirely cast in bad light.

    “Where the arm of government that traditionally stabilises the polity is held out to be corrupt, what then is the image of the country in the entire world?”

    Nwoko urged the legal profession “not to be deterred from making proposals for the good governance of the country regardless of how such proposals would be viewed”.

    He charged lawyers “to champion the course of good governance and progress in our country irrespective of the extent of attack that may be unleashed on the Bar”.

  • Akwa Ibom A-G: It’s wrong to label judiciary as corrupt

    Akwa Ibom A-G: It’s wrong to label judiciary as corrupt

    Akwa Ibom State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko, has faulted the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) chairman Ibrahim Magu for his comments on the judiciary and the legal profession.

    Speaking during the the state’s new legal year programme, Nwoko said it was wrong to lay all the blame for delays in prosecution of corruption cases on the judiciary.

    He said: “The Bar and the Bench have fallen heavily under the evil of attacks by all and sundry in our polity.

    “They have been considered as constituting clogs and fetters in the wheels of progress of the country, particularly now that the country is said to be focused on fighting corruption.’’

    Nwoko referred to the comments by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 31 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the judiciary was one of his “main headaches” in the  fight against corruption.

    Nwoko also referred to a statement made by the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is “populated by rogues and vultures”.

    Uwujaren was reacting Mahmoud’s call that the EFCC be stripped of its prosecutorial powers.

    Nwoko said: “The danger inherent in this sad comment about the judiciary as held out to the international community by the Nigerian president is that the judiciary is a promoter of corruption.”

    Nwoko said the judiciary, which plays a critical role in a democracy, should not be entirely cast in bad light.

    “Where the arm of government that traditionally stabilises the polity is held out to be corrupt, what then is the image of the country in the entire world?”

    Nwoko urged the legal profession “not to be deterred from making proposals for the good governance of the country regardless of how such proposals would be viewed”.

    He charged lawyers “to champion the course of good governance and progress in our country irrespective of the extent of attack that may be unleashed on the Bar”.

  • Falana blames NJC, NBA for rot in judiciary

    Falana blames NJC, NBA for rot in judiciary

    A Lagos based legal luminary, Mr Femi Falana has urged the Attorney-General of the Federation to arraign the three Judges arrested for alleged corrupt practices in court without any delay.

    At the same time, he also blamed the National Judicial Council and the Nigerian Bar Association for the rot in the judiciary.

    In a statement issued on Sunday, Falana described the detained judges as presumed innocent until the contrary was proven by the state.

    The legal practitioner said that they should also be admitted to bail in self-recognition.

    Falana expressed concern that over the years, the National Judicial Council (NJC) paid lip service to the crisis of judicial corruption in the country.

    “It is a matter of grave concern that the legal profession has allowed the denigration of the hallowed temple of justice because of the misconduct of a few corrupt judges.

    “For several years, judges who committed grave criminal offences were not prosecuted but merely retired by the authorities on the recommendation of the NJC.

    “Although the NJC recently recommended the dismissal and prosecution of a judge for extorting N197 million from a litigant, the authorities had paid lip service to the menace of judicial corruption in the country,’’ he said.

    Falana alleged that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has continued to shield corrupt judges to the embarrassment of incorruptible members of the bar and the bench.

    “The few lawyers who have plucked up the courage to expose corrupt judges and lawyers have been stigmatised and treated like lepers by their colleagues.

    “It is on record that when anti-graft agencies sent invitation letters to judges suspected of corruption, they had rushed to the Federal High Court to obtain interlocutory injunctions to prevent their arrest, investigation and prosecution.

    “Having failed to take advantage of relevant statutory disciplinary bodies to purge the bar and the bench of corrupt elements the members of the legal profession have themselves to blame for the harassment of judges by security forces.

    “It is on account of negligence on the part of the legal profession that the SSS has engaged in the arrest of judges for alleged corruption and abuse of office,’’ Falana said.

    The legal practitioner also urged the bar and the bench to strengthen their disciplinary bodies with a view to removing the few corrupt judges and lawyers.

    Falana, however, expressed concern that demand of human rights community to the effect that the fundamental rights of lowly placed criminal suspects be respected by security agencies was treated with disdain.

    “Judges and other influential citizens have since become victims of institutionalized abuse of official harassment.

    “It is high time that all stakeholders demanded that every criminal suspect be treated with dignity in line with the provision of the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015,’’ he added.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Security Service (SSS) raided the official quarters of judges at Abuja, Gombe, Kano and Port Harcourt on Friday night.

    During the raid, the homes of the Judges were searched while some of them were arrested and detained by the SSS.