By Chris Uche
On behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, I present our profound condolences to my Lord, the Hon. Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, and to my Lords, all the Judges of the Federal High Court, serving and retired, and particularly to the family of the late Hon. Justice Abdu-Kafarati (Rtd). I bring with me the sympathies of the Chairman of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Asiwaju A. S. Awomolo, SAN, and all the Senior Advocates of Nigeria here in Abuja.
We thank God for the life His Lordship, the late Hon. Justice Abdu-Kafarati lived, and for the worthy service he rendered to the justice sector and to Nigeria in general, for which we all keep him in our memories and remain indebted to him.
His biography has already been laid out and I have no intention to repeat these, accept to highlight that His Lordship, Hon. Justice Abdu-Kafarati started his career on the bench of the Federal High Court with his appointment as a Judge of the Federal High Court on October 31, 1991. He served meritoriously in several divisions of the Court, including Sokoto, Calabar, Lagos, Kaduna, Akure, Enugu and then Abuja. He served in Abuja here for quite some time, and later became acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court on 16 th September 2017 and the substantive Chief Judge on 18th June 2018. He served as the Chief Judge of this Court for about 13 months.
Speaking personally, I had the opportunity and privilege of appearing before His Lordship and doing cases before him several times. It was common knowledge amongst lawyers, and we attest to this, that His Lordship was a very calm and courteous Judge, and had a reputation for patiently and quietly listening to all Counsel canvass arguments, and will never interject, nor interfere nor bully Counsel. You can even see his forbearance under seeming provocation. It was only in his rulings and judgments that you will see the courage, wisdom and experience of the late Jurist. His rulings and judgments were notable for his clarity of thought and simplicity of presentation. Time will not permit any reference any of the many contributions he made to the development of jurisprudence through his decisions, many of which were upheld on appeal. His Lordship will be remembered by the legal community for his many contributions by way of judgments and rulings that enriched jurisprudence in many aspects of the law.
My Lord, occasions like this, as sober and sombre as they are, yet provide us with opportunities to reflect on the lot of the Bench and the Bar, particularly in challenging times such as we are in.
There is no doubt that the independence of the judiciary is the cornerstone of a democratic society and safeguard for the freedom and rights of the citizens under the Rule of Law. We are all familiar with those well-known impediments to the independence of the Judiciary, such as financial dependence, appointment and removal of judges, disobedience of court orders etc. These are factors one may refer to as external enemies. Today, we may want to reflect on whether the Judiciary itself, and indeed the legal profession, is doing what it ought to do to defend and protect its own independence, or has it in any way been complicit, either by action or inaction, in allowing external enemies to invade the sacred sanctuary.
There is no gainsaying the fact in recent times (more than at any other time in the life of this Nation), there have been systematic efforts to erode the independence of the Judiciary by the ruling class by way of intimidation, coercion, arm-twisting, divide-and-rule tactics, and outright harassment. As the journey to 2023 has begun, it is more likely to intensify, if experience is anything to go by.
It started with the raid on the homes of Judges in October 2016, followed up with a media blitz to hamstrung and demystify the Judiciary. Some of us screamed, while some of us justified it, not realising the ultimate impact on the entire body of justice. As sacrilegious as it were, both the Bench and the Bar did not rise to the occasion to nip this ugly trend in the bud. Having got away successfully with that, they were emboldened to attempt the unthinkable, and that is what is known today as the Onnoghen saga. The head of the Judiciary, the symbol of the Judiciary, a sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria, was removed from office with a questionable ex parte order by a Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, and we all stood by and watched, forgetting that it was not about Onnoghen but about the Judiciary, about the legal profession, about the Constitution the Judiciary itself had sworn to defend, and indeed about the Country. The Judiciary was traumatised, and the Bar was polarised. The Court of Appeal we recall refused to deliver its ruling in the matter for over three months! The Judiciary became a victim of its silence.
Now again, on Friday, October 29, 2021, we witnessed another invasion, this time the residence of Justice Mary Odili, JSC, second most senior Justice of the Supreme Court. With the benefit of hindsight, lawyers mobilised themselves, intervened timely and responded promptly, raising a national hue and cry that led to the forces beating a retreat, followed with strings of denials.
The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Abuja swung into action, proceeding to the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory to register our displeasure and objection. The following day, the Supreme Court issued a press release condemning the invasion, which was a good development.
This dispensation has witnessed arrest and prosecution of judges in Nigeria without subjecting them to extant rules made by NJC on discipline of judges, and subtle arm-twisting tactics such as dishing out demands for filing of declaration of assets forms on questionable occasions etc.
I must salute the courage of the Judges of this Court in the matter of Hon. Justice Rita Ajumogobia after years of trauma of prosecution.
I also salute the Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, who had the courage to dismiss the case brought against the Federal High Court Judge in the circumstances. No one is supporting corruption or contending that Judges are above scrutiny, but when such arrests are orchestrated for reasons that are certainly not altruistic, the Judiciary must unite to defend itself. The Judiciary must be self-assertive on such issues when the law is on their side. Our people have a saying that you must first chase away the invading hawk before you blame the little chick for wandering off. Judges must be their brothers’ keepers.
In many EFCC trials, very few Judges are bold enough to decide according to the law because of media propaganda, and the entitlement mentality of the prosecuting agencies and their penchant to petition and vilify Judges who do not decide cases in line with their expectation, rather than quietly proceeding on appeal.
As we approach 2023, the temptation to interfere in electoral matters before your Courts, be they primary or post elections, will intensify. The temptation towards use of selective prosecution of corruption cases against political opponents will step up. The Judiciary must guard its independence.
3 The true independence the Nigerian Judiciary needs at this crucial time in the life of our nation is not only financial independence or infrastructural independence, but decisional independence to fulfil its constitutional oath and mandate to dispense justice to all manner of people without fear or favour. The Judiciary must assert itself, and indeed liberate itself, through the protection of its decisional independence. We need a Judiciary that will protect the independence of the Judiciary by itself and the freedom of the people it serves.
As we mourn our departed Lord, brother and colleague, who eminently contributed his quota to the justice delivery system of this Court, may I commend your Lordship the Chief Judge for reviving this hallowed tradition of the Bench of having valedictory court sessions, both for retiring Judges and departed Judges. The respect the Bench gives to its own, both in life and in death, equally impacts on the respect it gets from the society, and an elixir towards greater commitment to service by the living.
Once more, accept our most profound condolences on the passing of His Lordship, Hon. Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati (Rtd), and may his soul continue to rest in peace.
• Chief Chris Uche, SAN, For and on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Abuja.