Whilst it is
a commendable admonition to an esteemed body of professionals being debased by
a few unscrupulous elements amongst its fold, the minister’s candid declaration
must be matched by action, if it must be taken seriously as is expected of his
office.
Reiterating
the anti-corruption drive of this administration, Malami was quoted as saying,
inter alia: “…in line with the cardinal agenda of
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the office of the Attorney-General
of the federation shall ensure that every appearance of corruption in the
judiciary is dealt with among other measures through criminal prosecution and
forfeiture to the state of illegally acquired assets.”
This harsh
comment made in Lagos at the launch of a Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) report titled, “Go home and sin no more: Corrupt
Judges Escaping from Justice in Nigeria”, should not surprise anyone. This is
because recent events have put the judiciary in odium and disrepute.
Decades ago,
the sagely candour and controlled socialisation that venerate judges’ appearances
were qualities that spelt probity, impartiality and honour. However, perhaps,
fuelled by odious economic and political practices, judges are becoming
vulnerable to the promptings of men and women in power. Today, the mystique of
power, character and influence, as well as a judge’s sagacious comfiture, have
been shattered by obscene familiarity with the casual political and social
class. With incidents of leakage of judgments before delivery and ostentatious
lifestyles beyond legitimate earning, some judges seem so assiduous in joining
the rat-race for base and mundane cravings; all to the desecration of the
temple of justice.
In the last
one year, there has been some consistent volte face towards ignoble practices
of judicial officers. The other day, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, had condemned
the emerging incidence of conflicting judgments coming out of the Court of
Appeal. Before then, he had, during the inauguration and swearing-in of 242
judges, selected as chairmen and members of the 2015 Election Petition
Tribunal, warned judges not to be used as tools to truncate democracy. If the
respected public officials of the law were emboldened to be that brash to their
professional constituency, it is perhaps because former Chief Justice of the
Federation, Justice Maryam Aloma Mukhtar, made the first public admission of
corruption in this sector of government when she indicted judicial employees
including court secretaries, court registrars, process clerks and bailiffs as
drivers of the corruption chain in the judiciary.
Whilst
reports of these incidents are open to the public, lawyers, like many Nigerian
professionals, are the first to defend their kin. Even though they are
embarrassed by allegations of impropriety and illicit liaisons affecting their
professions, lawyers want their prestige position in the society untainted by
public invectives directed at the learned gentlemen and ladies. The public, it
seems, has no right to pontificate on moral issues concerning the learned profession!
This needless haughtiness and the conspiracy amongst Nigerian professionals to
always unwittingly defend or protect themselves must stop.
This is
where the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) must come in to save its own
reputation. If the growing perception that justice can be bought from a judge
is to be diffused, the NBA must begin to show Nigerians that lawyers who aid
and abet judicial corruption can be disciplined, irrespective of rank or class.
To this end, once the requisite institution has indicted corrupt judges, the
NBA should lead the way to ensure that diligent prosecution takes its course.
Nigeria
could also take a cue from Ghana, where not too long ago, 20 judges were
dismissed for being implicated in a high profile investigation into bribe-taking
and other forms of misbehaviour. The judges were dismissed at the instance of a
five-member disciplinary committee appointed in October by Ghana’s Chief
Justice Georgina Wood, after an embarrassing undercover footage by a local
journalist exposed the rot in the judiciary and shocked the nation. Like Ghana,
Nigeria should begin to apprehend corrupt elements in the system to use as
scapegoats. When a petition is filed about a corrupt judge to the National
Judicial Council and then investigation is carried out to ascertain
culpability, a sack or dismissal could be recommended.
That this
administration has included forfeiture of illegally acquired assets as a
penalty is a welcome development. Nigerians must support this, and ensure that
this proposal comes to light, if the sanitisation of the judiciary is to be
taken seriously. Furthermore, just as the SERAP report has drawn the attention
of the public to the atrocious behaviour of judges, there is need for more
organisations that people can report to in cases of judicial abuse;
organisations that will investigate corrupt judges and cleanse the abuse. From
an administrative perspective, the Federal Government may want to consider a
re-organisation of the civil service in such a manner that would separate the
positions of the Attorney-General and that of the Minister of Justice. This
would ensure efficiency and proper monitoring of the bench, and check the
activities of the other officers of the judiciary.
The warning
of the Attorney-General might seem brash and irreverent, yet it is a fitting
reminder of that sacred message of every democratic culture, that no one is
above the law. (Guardian)
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