Taking Judicial Rascality Too Far
By Abdulsalam Mahmud
I am always cautious of my choice of words and phrases, whenever it becomes a must that I react to any social issue. Fascinated with the dictum of “silence is golden, while speech is silver,” I always hesitate in commenting, especially on happenings, events and burning issues that are very sensitive and delicate, lest a libellous or defamatory suit comes dangling on one’s neck.
In the last few weeks, our judiciary became a staple item in the Nigerian press, albeit for the wrong reasons. It is safe to say that the justice-dispensation arm of government, here in our country, has always battled some existential problems threatening its independence, credibility and autonomy.
An erudite writer with The Punch newspaper, Lekan Sote, in an essay titled, “State capture of judiciary”, ‘sarcastically’ argued that the rot in the Nigerian judiciary reflects the decadent nature of the judiciary of 19th Century England – the colonial power that bestowed the best and worst of its judicial institutions and values to our dear country.
A former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. Dakuku Peterside recently explained why the country’s judiciary finds itself enmeshed in an intractable crisis of credibility. In a piece titled, “Dark Chapter for the Judiciary,” which Vanguard newspaper published recently, Peterside asserted that Nigeria’s judiciary dug itself into a deep hole of credibility crisis for three key reasons. The first reason, according to him, is the preponderance of questionable judgements.
“This is worse with political cum election cases. Some judgements are inconceivable, and it is difficult for right-thinking persons to wrap their heads around them. From politicians not participating in primaries but becoming substantive candidates to court injunctions against the arrest of politicians or politically exposed people on criminal allegations to unimaginable errors in electoral judgment and judicial procedures, one wonders why we are facing such an epidemic of judicial impunity”.
The second reason, meanwhile, is the plethora of embarrassing corruption stories about the judiciary constantly in the public domain, said the River State-born politician cum social affairs commentator. “The public has lost trust in the incorruptible judiciary, and now the general perception is that the judiciary is prone to corrupt practices. Although this may be a hasty generalisation because we still have honest and incorruptible judges doing a great job, they hardly get mentioned in the media. Instead, the public is bombarded with news about corruption in the judiciary.
“Besides, the lifestyle of some judges belies the fact that they must be corrupt. We all know that the remuneration of judges and justices (between N450,000 to N750,000) is poor considering their excellent work; some live billionaires’ lifestyles, making people wonder how they come about the money they are spending. It is public knowledge that judges clamour for jobs in the election petition seasons, and evidence abounds that some of the judges’ lives change overnight after the election petition assignment period”.
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The third reason in the perspective of Peterside, who was the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2015 Rivers State gubernatorial election, is the panoply of unethical conduct among judicial officers, together with the slow trial of cases, especially during electoral adjudication periods. “Judicial accountability is far fetched. Justice delayed is tantamount to justice denied. Most Nigerians will shy away from our court system because of the delay in the court process and the recklessness of ending cases mostly on technical issues rather than substantive ones.
“This has been made worse by the politicisation of the judiciary to the extent that some stakeholders call it the “capture of the judiciary” by politics. Judges are supposed to be politically neutral and objective, contributing to maintaining a democratic state without bias. However, we notice the involvement of some judges in politics, or their close family members are politicians or politically exposed, and therefore put undue pressure on them and the judicial system”.
It is trite saying our judiciary has come under a more scathing attack and derision over some court rulings on gubernatorial election litigations, emanated from the 2023 general polls. The judgments delivered by the Appeal Court in the Zamfara, Kano and Plateau State’s guber tussles, particularly appear unpopular, if not entirely controversial.
Regardless, I will always be circumspect in choosing the right words for our jurists and the judicial arm of government. It is good that one has a dose of tolerance for the shenanigans perpetrated by some ‘fraudulent’ judges. It is equally more imperative that one eschews writings or utterances that look contemptuous in nature.
But one should feel sorry for the country’s judiciary, especially if it becomes an ‘enemy of progress’ sabotaging the fight against vicious insecurity, which our security personnel have been unable to tackle decisively. Recently, and at a sectoral debate in the National Assembly, NASS, the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, accused the judiciary of stalling their military’s fight against criminality, an act he said is endangering the lives of troops and their families.
Gen. Musa blamed the judiciary for releasing arrested Boko Haram suspects after being arrested by the military. “I have been in the Northeast; there were a lot of Boko Haram elements that have been captured. We have kept them for five/six years. We the armed forces can arrest but cannot prosecute. Some of them have been found wanting, but no prosecution.
“We are keeping them for this lengthy period, everyone is accusing the Armed forces of keeping them against their human rights, but we cannot prosecute. Another aspect of the judiciary is that you use all your efforts to make an arrest, you hand them over, and before you enter your vehicle, the man has been released on bail.
“Now you have risked yourself in doing that; by the time he is released, he goes to tell the people the person that arrested him. Now your family members or you are at risk,” he said. The Defence Chief said it was getting to a state where the security forces would not want to make any effort.
There is no prize for guessing that Nigeria is only an inch away from becoming another Afghanistan or Somalia by the time our military and security agencies become indifferent towards fighting insecurity. There is need for an urgent intervention that will boost our troops’ morale, instead of suppressing it. It behooves the judiciary to retrace its steps, lest it will further incur the wrath of citizens, who already are disenchanted with it.
The National Judicial Commission, NJC, under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN Kayode Ariwoola, should be swift in probing the allegations of the Defence Chief. Unscrupulous elements hampering the war against Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, should be reigned in. The Nigerian judiciary needs to be purged of bad eggs, who have taken their acts of rascality too far.
Mahmud is the Deputy Editor of PRNigeria, and wrote in via: [email protected].
