By Sixtus Chibueze Ezennaya

THE three arms of government are the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. In the case of the first two, aside being elective, anybody of any profession can be at the helm of affairs or can be a member and function perfectly well. Secondly, the tenure of office of members of these two arms of government is fixed.  The judiciary, however, is only reserved for lawyers, with no fixed tenure for their service. It is the third arm of the government which interprets the law and adjudicates cases relating to its breaches. Judicial officers are more like civil servants, though with a difference, hence every qualified lawyer is entitled to the rights and privileges of a member of the judicial chambers.

Consequent upon this unique function, the officers of the judiciary are always expected to be men of discipline, honour, conscience and integrity. They should, like Caesar’s wife, be above board and go to equity with clean hands. That is why the judiciary is referred to as the last hope of the common man, as its officers are expected to work without fear or favour.  Lord Ross was the man who posited that “Justice is the correct application of the law as opposed to arbitrariness”. As the men in the temple of justice, could there be found among them, members who do not belong or subscribe to the School of Thought of Lord Ross?

In various professions, only those who distinguish themselves and are brighter than their colleagues are appointed to positions of leadership and integrity. University graduates with First Class or Second Class Upper usually become junior lecturers so as to impart the knowledge to the undergraduates. Nigerian sportsmen and women are not treated differently. Many of the professional players in the major leagues distinguished themselves from the mediocre players at their local leagues, hence their elevation. That Nigerian referees are not picked to officiate at any of the senior World Cup matches could be attributed to their mediocre performances. Some are accused of receiving gratification, thus becoming the twelfth player of a side. In religious circles, merit is not sacrificed on the altar of preferential treatment as even Jesus Christ, the Founder of Christianity, never appointed his closest relative, John, the head of his religion. That is why the “Altus Christus” position enjoyed by the papacy has not been the exclusive monopoly of any particular people.

Nigeria, in the past, has produced reputable Justices of international repute and standard. Perhaps, that was when Quota System or Federal Character was not the method of selection of Judges. The fact that Judges Charles Daddy Onyeama, T. S. Elias and Bola Ajibola were World Court Judges at The Hague at one time or the other was based on merit, not on having a Nigerian there or filling Nigerian/African quota. That Justices Kalu Anya and Alfred Obi-Okoye were Chief Judges of Borno and Plateau States respectively in the 70s/80s despite being non-indigenes was based on merit.

That Justice Anoliefo from Anambra State was appointed a Judge in Benue State was because of his shinning and glaring performance at the bar. It was the product of ability, not Federal Character or Quota System that enabled three Igbo men: Prof. K. O. Dike, Prof. Eni Njoku and Justice Louis Mbanefo to found Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA). Could Quota System or Federal Character have allowed Prof. Adiele E. Afigbo to be the first Ph.D. graduate of University of Ibadan, as it has denied the growth of Nigerian National League (NNL) as North and South must each produce two teams to join the Nigeria Professional League (NPL)?

I have always heard a relative of mine who is a member of the bar use the word “tombo or jankara” lawyers. Who is a “tombo and jankara” lawyer? He is any lawyer who so much believes in arbitrariness or obtaining court judgement through the backdoor. In a situation where a “tombo and jankara” lawyer becomes a judge through a Quota System or Federal Character, he will invariably become a “tombo or jankara” judge and the damage that would be done to the judiciary would unquantifiable and irredeemable because, according to Ndi Igbo, the way the man inside the masquerade behaves is the same way his masquerade behaves. After all, the scrotum of the he-goat was acquired by proxy, hence its oversize. Does it require commenting on, the poor grammatical blunders of many of these “tombo or jankara” lawyers who in turn become future quota judges? If there is anyone who should be a master of English Language grammar, it is the lawyer.

 There used to be a time when the judgments of the Appeal and Supreme Courts could not be faulted. Most importantly, the judgments did not leak, and were not seen or heard, before the judgment day. Judgments of those days were sound reference materials of today as there were elements of erudition in them.

But today, with all due respect and without prejudice to our courts, is it not absurd that some judgments of today’s judges may not stand the test of time or serve as reference materials? Though a lawyer I am not, I love and enjoy reading a lot, court judgments in law reports at my leisure. That Nigerian judiciary has been bastardized is embarrassing.

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Could it be true that a judgment that was to be delivered in an election tribunal in a place in one of the Igbo States, was read in parts in a beer parlour by the defendant two days before the judgment, to assure his friends and supporters that he had succeeded in the “purchase of the judgment.”? How true is it that some judges of today, lobby for appointment as Election Tribunal Judges to Igbo States where casting of the votes since 1999 has never reflected in the counting and results of the elections?

This allegation has made the politicians in some of those states to “pack” their money for bribing the judicial officers at the tribunal instead of using the money to do the work for the masses. Could it also be true that Igbo States are becoming the “Oil Well” for the Nigerian judiciary, because of the very many and unending election cases  there?

  In the 1983 elections in Nigeria, stories abound of how Mrs. Elizabeth Pam, the National Electoral Commissioner for Imo State then, was allegedly offered the sum of two million naira (N2m) gratification by one of the parties that contested the election for her to declare and announce the party the winner of the governorship election but the offer was rejected.

Ezennaya is a public affairs analyst

The appellation, “Justice”,  as judges are called, means the bearer is Justice personified, above board, an embodiment of truth, integrity and unbiased. Consequently, nothing is expected to make gold rust. In the circumstance that it does, what then will become of iron?

 

Ezennaya is a public affairs analyst