Abuja — Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Salihu Modibo Alfa Belgore yesterday defended past military incursions into the Nigerian politics, saying virtually all past military rulers who seized power by force in the history of the country came on board to cure dangerous maladies capable of disintegrating the Nigerian nation.

"Yes, they came to cure a malady in our national development: a malady of ineptitude; a malady of corruption; a malady of divisive tendencies and so many others," he explained.
Justice Belgore who singled out former Military President, Gen Ibrahim Babangida for praise yesterday over some of his favourable policies especially to the judiciary while in government also said that there was nothing wrong in a military ruler being dictatorial.

According to him, "every military regime must have some dictatorial tendencies because that is the only way they can be successful."
He said rather than dismissing military rulers as sheer dictators, he said the home-truth must be told that most of the military regimes came to correct some fundamental inadequacies in the nation's development.

Justice Belgore also recalled how the National Judicial Council (NJC) which sanitised the nation's judiciary of its rottenness was established saying it had its origin from the regime of Gen Babangida.

He told a story of how Babangida's administration gave the controversial Mercedez Benz cars to the Supreme Court justices in the presence of the military ruler.

The occasion where Justice Belgore spoke yesterday was the public presentation of two books edited by Justice Niki Tobi while the venue was Yar'adua Centre in Abuja where Gen Babangida himself renewed his bid to contest the 2007 presidential election in the country.

General Babangida who was the Chairman of the occasion was cornered by newsmen yesterday after the book presentation where he debunked speculations that he was out of the 2007 presidential race and said "I am still in the 2007 presidential race."
Justice Belgore had spoken yesterday shortly after Gen Babangida delivered his speech at the occasion where he jokingly described himself as a military dictator.

The CJN in reaction to the joke had said: "our chairman (Gen Babangida) called himself a military dictator. Well, every military regime must have some dictatorial tendencies because that is the only way they can be successful.


"People say they are not allowing human rights, that they suspend the constitution. People look at them and say their coming was illegal. Certainly, commonsense dictates at that time that those portions should be removed.
"If I may ask, were they dictators really? In my view, they came to cure a malady in our national development. Malady of ineptitude, malady of corruption and divisive tendencies and so many other things.

Can you believe that this is the stance of the Chief Justice of Nigeria? Tell that to all the people that got killed for telling the Truth. This justice has crossed the line, and at the very least, he should be forced into retirement. Now, when I said that all Judges that served in Military tribunals should be put on trial and if found guilty of mis-judging, they should be executed by firing squad, I get told how extreme my stance is.

These men are corrupt and they MUST be dealt with. This was the last comment I expected to hear from a chief Justice. Now that we know the views of those whose job it is to uphold justice, maybe it is time to give these Military lovers a little taste of Military justice.

Belgore is a disappointment already. Thank god his retirement age comes next year.

Belgore is a microcosm of the entire thinking in northern nigeria! these people (animals called men!) are no democrats, merely parasites feeding off the resources of the more progressive minded and properous south.
Under no circumstance would a southern government trade away bakassi. We lost that prime land and source of billions of barrels of oil because of the stupidity of one man, Yakubu Gowon and there he is telling Nigeria to pray! Pray about what?