By Gbemiga Olakunle
“From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities (especially in the North-East) are burned with fire; your land, strangers (Boko-haram and other terrorists) devour it in your presence, and it is desolate , as overthrown by strangers….’’
Isaiah 1:6-9, KJV.
The fact that some judicial officials in Nigeria are having issues with the security agencies over suspected corruption-related matters is no longer news. What is news is the alleged unwillingness of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to cooperate with the security agencies like the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in carrying out their statutory duties. The NJC’s non-cooperative position was made more manifest when it reportedly rejected the advice given by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National President that the judges (about seven of them) who have cases that border on corruption to answer and are still under investigation by the DSS should be suspended or advised to step aside.
But, rather than giving due consideration to the advice of the NBA President, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, the NJC countered the legal luminary’s opinion, citing certain provisions of its law to back its position. At this juncture, the NJC may be find itself battling with moral issues rather than the legality of its position to allow these suspected judicial officials to still carry on with their normal official duties. Already, a dent has been put on the images of these affected judges. And, the NJC is inadvertently doing more damage to their dented images by refusing to heed the legal opinion of the NBA President.
What is NJC losing by allowing these suspected judicial officials to step-aside until they prove themselves innocent of the charges against them? The arising matter or the issue in contention is whether these affected judicial officials can continue to sit comfortably and preside over corruption cases that may be brought to their courts. Again, one may also need to ask “Whose interest is the NJC trying to serve or protect in this matter?” Is it protecting the rule of law or its own fraternity/sectional interest?
It should be noted that the judiciary is seen and regarded as the hope of the common man. And, if the integrity of that highly respected institution is being called to question or is under any iota of doubt, it should be the duty of the National Judicial Commission to prove the ‘doubting Thomases’ wrong by making or allowing its members and others who are directly under their juridisction/supervision to clear themselves of any suspected misdemeanor/misdeed in the course of carrying out their judicial functions.
Today, Friday October 21st, 2016, in his address at the Afe Babalola University, His Excellency the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, alluded to the fact that no arm of government is free of corruption. In other words, the Vice-President was affirming that the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are corrupt.
This is a self-appraisal coming from someone who is also a Legal Luminary (being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria-SAN) and Number 2 Public Official /Citizen in this country. And so, the Vice-President’s self assessment should be taken seriously. With this kind of self-appraisal which has been vividly captured by the above quoted Scripture – Isaiah 1:6-9, maybe the Presidency may eventually beam its corruption searchlight on itself after touching some key sectors of the economy.
But, the scenario being presented to the public suggests that the judiciary is trying to shield itself and certain sacred cows from the beam of this corruption searchlight. Or, how else can anyone explain the rationale behind the disagreement between the NJC and the NBA on the best way to clean the suspected Augean Stable of the nation’s Judiciary? Corruption war is like a fire – furnace that is meant to burn off the dross from a nugget of raw gold so that the precious metal can shine brighter when the process is properly applied without fear or favour.
To save itself from further embarrassing moments, the judiciary through the NJC, needs to yield to public opinion/pressures and remove the suspected logs from its own eyes so that it can be in a position to see the splinter of woods in the eyes of others who may be arraigned before its members in the temple of Justice. To do otherwise is to threaten the Tenets/Fundamentals of our nascent democracy which this esteemed third arm of government has sworn to uphold.
And, true to our optimism that The Presidency may eventually beam the corruption searchlight on itself, we were about to conclude the writing of this article when we came across an online report on NAIJ portal citing Vanguard reports that the Presidency has directed the Inspector–General of Police to investigate the role of the President’s Chief of staff in N500 million MTN scandal. It should be recalled that Alhaji Abba Kyari was accused of receiving a bribe from MTN telecommunications company to influence the government on the fine slammed on the company. According to this same online portal quoting The Vanguard, President Muhammed Buhari has reportedly ordered the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) of the Nigerian Police Force to investigate his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari, over bribery accusations.
If this report is found to be true, then why should the NJC seem to develop cold feet as regards the ongoing investigation of suspected corrupt judicial officials within the Nigerian judiciary? Or, could there be more suspected skeletons that may still be hiding in its cupboard?
There is no gainsaying the fact that our judicial system is in dire need of incorruptible judges to handle and clear the backlog of cases that litter our courts as a result of granting of suspected frivolous injunctions and endless adjournments for reasons that discerning minds find difficult to understand. We, therefore, admonish the NJC to be courageous and flow along with the currents of War Against Corruption and not to move in the opposite direction of the wave/currents.
Despite the gallantry and efforts of the Nigerian military to stamp out acts of Terrorism and Pipeline vandalisation in the North-East and in the Niger-Delta areas respectively, the problems are yet to be fully checked. For instance, earlier in the week there was on online news report that the Boko-Haram terrorists reportedly attacked one of our military positions in the North-East and forced our soldiers to beat a tactical retreat, which led to the “missing” of about 13 soldiers, including a Commanding Officer.
As at the time of concluding the writing of this write-up, we are yet to know whether the soldiers that were reportedly declared missing in action have been found or not. And, if those who occupy the Bench in our Judicial System are not seen to be above reproach of any kind, how can they honestly dispense justice to high-profile suspects of cases that border on terrorism, felony and other crimes against the state?
Olakunle is the General Secretary, National Prayer Movement. [email protected] Abuja