The recent warning by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) against the harassment of judicial officers by security operatives is timely and appropriate. Justice Tanko Muhammad, who warned that Nigeria’s judiciary has had enough of the embarrassment of its officials, said it would no longer take kindly to a repeat of any ugly treatment from security operatives.
Referring to the embarrassing invasion of the official residence of Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court on October 29, 2021, Muhammad said: “With time, those taking the judiciary as a mere weakling will soon realise that it is from the calmest seas we often experience the fiercest storms. The time to oppress, suppress and intimidate judicial officers is gone.” He said Nigeria was not a lawless society and that no law permitted anybody to invade and subdue any Nigerian citizen in his or her residence with flimsy, fraudulently obtained search warrant.
A certain Chief Magistrate, Mr. Emmanuel Iyanna, of Wuse Zone 6 magisterial division in Abuja had issued a search warrant in favour of a team known as Joint Panel Recovery under the Ministry of Justice. Based on this warrant, armed security operatives stormed Justice Odili’s home. The search warrant was reportedly based on a whistleblower’s information from an Abuja resident known as Aliyu Umar. Umar had alleged that there were illegal activities going on at No. 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja, which demanded immediate action from law enforcement agents. The chief magistrate has since revoked the search warrant due to misrepresentation in the first information application to the court.
So far, 15 suspects said to be involved in the raid have been arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja. They were slammed with 18-count amended charge which borders, among others, on forgery, criminal trespass, intimidation, threats, and extortion. Twenty-two defendants were on the charge but seven are still at large. The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Justice Odili’s ordeal is not the first. In October 2016, some operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) raided the house of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, now late, and six others in the dead of the night. The operatives explained that the raid was as a result of investigations into allegations of fraud perpetrated by the judges. They claimed that they recovered large sums of money in local and foreign currencies from Ngwuta’s residence.
In April 2019, the immediate past CJN, Walter Onnoghen, was ignominiously removed from office with a questionable ex-parte order by the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The Tribunal convicted Onnoghen on six counts of false declaration of assets and banned him from holding any public office for the next 10 years.
Most times, this type of raid and harassment could be to intimidate the judges to achieve some sinister motives. It could be to coerce them to adjudicate in favour of some people. It could also be a prelude to accusation of sundry offences against them which could lead to their being removed from office to make room for some favoured candidates in succession battles. This has festered because nobody has been punished for it.
This is partly why the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) lamented what it calls systematic efforts to erode the independence of the judiciary by the ruling class in recent times. Such efforts, according to the Body of SANs, include intimidation, coercion, arm-twisting, divide-and-rule tactics and outright harassment. It called on the judiciary to protect its independence by putting a stop to the invasion of its sacred sanctuary by external enemies.
The Senate and many other concerned Nigerians also condemned the invasion of the residence of Justice Odili, the second most senior judicial official in Nigeria.
Harassment of judges, if not checked, will impact negatively on the nation’s image. It could paint Nigeria as a nation where the rule of law and rights of citizens are abridged at will. Besides, judgements emanating from such a judicial system will not have the trust and confidence of people.
The danger in allowing this type of harassment to fester is that it will eventually undermine the essence of democracy. We should bear in mind that the judiciary is a hallowed institution. It is the third arm of government and the last hope of the oppressed.
Thus, we must ensure at all times that its independence, which is one of the hallmarks of a democratic society, is upheld and respected. If judges residences are raided at will, it undermines whatever respect they have and invariably affects the entire justice system. We must collectively condemn this tendency and urge the President to speak on it so that it will not be repeated. Judges should not just be respected; their judgements should also be obeyed at all times by everybody no matter how highly placed. We align with the warning of the CJN because the judiciary needs to assert itself.