₦airaland Forum

FOR corrupt judges who have for long desecrated the temple of justice and gone unpunished, the time is up, given a recent pronouncement by the Federal Government. They will now go to jail. This is a good development. Nigerians have been lamenting without end the racketeering in the dispensation of justice, for which the Bench has considerably lost its awe.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who stated this in Lagos at a public lecture entitled: “Go home and sin no more: Corrupt Judges escaping justice in Nigeria,” emphasised that the practice of just retiring corrupt judges was over under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. They will not only be tried and convicted, but their assets would be forfeited to the government. The AGF said, “I am reiterating that the fight against corruption shall be total and will not exclude judicial officers, who are found wanting. After all, it is beyond doubt that a corrupt judge cannot meaningfully contribute to the fight against corruption.” We cannot agree more.

Indeed, that the judiciary is at cross purposes with the Executive in dealing with this conundrum resonated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Sunday, when the President held a town hall meeting with Nigerians living there. He also said, “On the fight against corruption vis-à-vis the judiciary, Nigerians will be right to say that is my main headache for now.” The President is right.

It is fascinating that the evidence that the Bench is drenched in corruption is widespread. Kayode Eso, a former justice of the Supreme Court, before he died, raised the alarm that “billionaire judges” were rampant; while a former President of the Court of Appeal, Ayo Salami, drew our collective attention to the ignoble role of retired senior justices acting as conduits of bribes to judges, on behalf of litigants seeking to pervert the course of justice. And the weight of it is crushing. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, disclosed through John Fabiyi, a Justice of the Supreme Court, at an event last year that 64 judges “were disciplined as appropriate,” between 2009 and 2014. By this he meant those given a slap on the wrist by easing them out of office. Such action is devoid of any deterrent. And it explains why the Bench has remained the weakest link in the anti-corruption chain.

Before Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar bowed out of office as the CJN in November 2014, she also painted a disturbing picture of this mess. While she inherited 139 petitions against corrupt judges, some fresh 198 cases were filed during her 28-month tenure, out of which 33 were considered worthy of attention. She said, “15 are awaiting responses from judges” as of November 2014. The incumbent may have received fresh petitions.

These damning accounts cohere with the reservations some senior members of the Bar periodically express about the misconduct of judges. For instance, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, once said, “There is a growing perception backed by empirical evidence that justice is purchasable, and it has been purchased on several occasions in Nigeria.”

Some judges were found wanting in the adjudication of election petitions in 2003 and 2007, but were merely dismissed. We have also seen judges abuse interlocutory injunctions, give plaintiffs relief they did not seek, or give judgements totally incongruent with the law. Now, litigants, aided by their counsel, shop for crooked judges to buy justice before filing their cases. These aberrations have lowered the magisterial aura judges once radiated and it questions the integrity of our justice delivery system.

Apparently, Nigeria found itself at the crossroads today simply because of the hypocritical attitude of our judicial authorities, especially the National Judicial Council, the apex disciplinary body chaired by the CJN, which has been remiss in pushing for corrupt judges’ prosecution the way it is done in civilised ju

Buhari is simply threatening the judges and trying to strong-arm or arm-twist them into giving Buhari the kind of judgement he wants

This in itself is corruption and destruction of an important institution. There must be separation of powers and there are already mechanism for dealing with corrupt judges through the NJC. It is no way the duty of the executive President

Democracy is under threat here really.

Buhari started with trying to arm-twist the NASS he met opposition now he has shifted to the judiciary

If Buhari can not govern effectively while respecting the rule of law as a democratic President should then he should kindly resign.

Guy no be threat, we have the chief judge of the nation

JerryTeddy01:
Guy no be threat, we have the chief judge of the nation

Buhari should clean up his own cabinet first before loosing sleep over the Judiciary. Amaechi is the biggest thief in the country and funded the Buhari election campaign.

So Buhari has a lot of soul searching to do. He should stop wasting the time of the country!

krendo:
Buhari should clean up his own cabinet first before loosing sleep over the Judiciary. Amaechi is the biggest thief in the country and funded the Buhari election campaign.

So Buhari has a lot of soul searching to do. He should stop wasting the time of the country!

How do you mean by the biggest thief, wat meter did you use in measuring that

Well, as far as I know, the law of the land has never excluded anyone from its provisions. Why are you saying the FG made a pronouncement as if making a new law? Really really, Nigerians will take long to recover from the hang-over of military rule. This report sounds like what you would hear in a military government. The question should be, 'what does the law already stipulate as punishment for indicted judges?', or 'what bill has the legislature signed into law concerning the matter?', and not 'what has the executive proclaimed on the spot?'.

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Freelanswer:
Well, as far as I know, the law of the land has never excluded anyone from its provisions. Why are you saying the FG made a pronouncement as if making a new law? Really really, Nigerians will take long to recover from the hang-over of military rule. This report sounds like what you would hear in a military government. The question should be, 'what does the law already stipulate as punishment for indicted judges?', or 'what bill has the legislature signed into law concerning the matter?', and not 'what has the executive proclaimed on the spot?'.



In any case, we are using this opportunity to invite you Nigerians to take advantage of this page www.lowprices.com.ng to shop at very reduced cost everyday.

Using my platform to advertise, no problem, I won't send EFCC to you. If judges are found wanting wats their punishment