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Judges, who think they can rubbish the image of the
Nigerian judiciary, may have to think again. The
Nigerian judiciary is in the process of cleansing itself of bad eggs who take delight in granting unconstitutional and controversial court orders.
Five judges have already been axed by the National Judicial Council, NJC, over various acts of misconduct. They are Wilson Egbo-Egbo, author of several odious judicial pronouncements; Matilda Adamu, chairman of the Akwa Ibom Election Petition Tribunal and his colleagues, A.T. Ahura, and A. M. Elelegwu. The suspension of the members of the tribunal was based on the findings of NJC on the complaints of bribery levelled against them. Also suspended is Chrystantus Senlong of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division for “his role in trying to influence the tribunal to give judgement in favour of one of the parties in the petition over governorship election in the state.”
Following the criticisms that have trailed the January 2 controversial order of Stanley Nnaji of the Enugu High Court for the removal of Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State, there are indications he would soon come under NJCs sledgehammer. The judges who are being handled in this cleansing process are known to have denigrated the judiciary.
Indeed, integrity and judicial independence, which were the hallmarks of the legal system appear to have taken a flight out of the land. Corruption, like a creeping monster, has found its way into the very heart of the Nigerian judiciary. From the Akwa Ibom State Election Petition Tribunal headed by Adamu to the Anambra political cum legal crisis, the recurring features have been the deployment of dirty judges by politicians to serve partisan interests.
However, the NJC headed by Mohammed Lawal Uwais, chief justice of the Federation and other members of the council appear determined to discipline corrupt judges in accordance with its constitutional responsibility. Specifically, the Third schedule, Chapter 20 (a) and Chapter 21 (a) of the 1999 Constitution empowers the council to probe and recommend to the president the removal from office of judicial officers and exercise control over such officers.
Besides, section 158(1) of the Constitution states that “in the exercise of its power to make appointments or to exercise disciplinary control over such persons, the National Judicial Council shall not be subject to the discretion or control of any other authority or person. It was based on these constitutional provisions that the NJC wielded the big stick against the dirty judges.
The allegations of bribery leveled against members of the Akwa Ibom Election Petition Tribunal was a test case for NJC. Newswatch learnt that the council found out that the judges took bribe to pervert the course of justice in upholding the election of Governor Victor Attah of Akwa Ikom State for a second term. Indeed, Ime Sampson Umanah, governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, in the state who was Attah’s rival in the electoral battle, blew the bribery scandal open. In his petition to the NJC, Umanah claimed that Attah’s victory at the tribunal, July 14, last year was purchased. Relying on the statement made by an orderly to Adamu and evidence of key players in the matter, Umanah claimed that members of the tribunal were biased in the case because they received financial inducement from Effiong Idong, the chief judge of Akwa Ibom State.
Umanah attached the purported confessional statement of Adamu’s orderly with his petition to the NJC. In the statement dated July 11, Peter Kasai, a police sergeant and former orderly to Adamu from the police headquarters in Jos, Plateau state, admitted that he paid a total of N6.4 million to two accounts at the Standard Trust Bank, STB, on behalf of his former boss. He explained that he had no doubt that the money represented part of what Adamu and other members of the tribunal ere allegedly paid by Idong.
Adamu, however, brought a twist to the bribery scandal in her letter to the president of the Court of Appeal, Abuja dated July 15, 2003. In that letter, she countered Umanah’s petition as she alleged that Umanah said he was ready to write an undertaking to pay her N50 million, after an initial payment of N10 million.
Based on the recent suspension of three members of the tribunal and Senlong, it is clear that the NJC found the allegations against them to be true.
Another source at the council told Newswatch that during investigation of the bribery allegation, it was discovered that more than N100 million was actually involved.
Since January 14, when the NJC announced the suspension of the judges, many Nigerians have applauded it as a step in the right direction. Bala Ibn Na’Allah, chairman, House of Representatives committee on judiciary, said the action of the council was in conformity with the purpose for which it was established. He described the NJC as the watchdog of the Nigerian judiciary, saying that the suspension of the corrupt judges showed the level to which they had gone in the investigation of the bribery allegations.
Last Monday, Debo Akande, SAN, and counsel to Umanah said he was proud that the NJC summoned the courage to deal with the corrupt judges. I believe and do hope that when we get the full details, it will not be mere removal from service, it will be full dismissal because ordinary removal may mean that you can go back and still , earn your full salary,” he said. Akande described the offence committed by the judges as criminal they ought to be prosecuted.
Before the NJC sledgehammer descended on the Akwa Ibom, Elections Petition Tribunal judges, the council had late last year suspended Egbo-Egbo for granting a controversial exparte order of injunction asking Governor Ngige to vacate office in the twilight of the Anambra saga. Indeed, the Anambra political debacle has more than any other event in recent times, exposed the nation’s judiciary to ridicule. Chris Uba, self-acclaimed godfather of Anambra politics and his fellow conspirators in the abortive July 10, 2003 civilian coup, had rushed to EgboEgbo in a bid to use the judicial process to oust Ngige. The controversial judge who was apparently financially induced by the Uba group granted their exparte application ordering the removal of Ngige in gross violation of section 308 of the Constitution, which provides that no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted against a governor while in office.
The case was brought before Nnaji on. December 24, last year, Mike Ozekhome, a constitutional lawyer, told Newswatch “that the processes through which the case was handled was illegal and unconstitutional. According to him, the time frame within which the case was handled was clearly illegal and spurious. He explained that the illegality and unconstitutionality of the case became obvious in view of the Christmas and New Year public holiday that even extended within those days the court was said to have sat. He further said that another aspect of the illegality In the process was that the, letter of summon was served by proxy through Nnoruka Udechukwu, Anambra State attorney general and commissioner for justice instead of the governor himself.
For Itse Sagey, a professor of law, the ruling by Nnaji was absurd and so the NJC should summon him to explain why he decided to play a dangerous game. “It is strange that a judge should order the removal of a governor on a case of enforcement of fundamental human rights,” he argued. Sagey submitted that the ruling was a judicial embarrassment and constitutional aberration since it was wrong for a high court in Enugu State to order the removal of a governor of another state where he lacks territorial jurisdiction.
Wole Olanipekun, president, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, said Nnaji’s ruling was worrisome as it could destroy the entire democratic system. The NBA boss explained that the governor of a state could only be removed from office as provided in section 188 of the Constitution. “No state high court judge has the jurisdiction or constitutional power to remove a governor of another state. It is unheard of and also unprecedented,” he said.
In a bid to ensure that Nnaji was adequately punished for engaging in the subversion of the rule of law, the Anambra State Government has sent a petition against him to the NJC. In the petition filed on behalf of the state government, Udechukwu alleged that Nnaji’s order contravened sections 188(1) and 308(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
Newswatch learnt that the NJC has commenced probing the controversial judge for his alleged professional misconduct.
Nnaji is not new to controversy. Indeed, when he was appointed a judge and sworn-in on November 3, 1998, it generated hues. Critics said his elevation from the position of a senior magistrate was based on the idea of geo-political spread rather than merit. In fact, R.A.C.E. Achara, former chairman of NBA, Enugu branch, took him to court challenging his appointment, citing his lack of experience to become a judge. Achara said that by the time Nnaji became a judge, he was only 11 years as a legal practitioner while the minimum qualification was 12 years. He also noted that he principally went to court because he felt that “a corrupt magistrate may be tolerated due to the stringent limitations to his jurisdiction, but a corrupt judge, ... should not be condoned in a society that wishes to make progress.”
Achara’s position is indeed a clear indictment of Nnaji. His contention was, however, dismissed by Justice R. C. Agbo, then of High Court One Enugu. Based on the allegations levelled against Nnaji, it is likely that he would become another casuality of the epic political cum legal drama in Anambra State. Signs that Nnaji may be sanctioned like Egbo-Egbo became manifest recently when Uwais cautioned state judges not to go beyond their boundaries. He said: “It’s a question of law. Even during the last All Judges Conference, we discussed this issue. We tried to explain to judges that if you are a state judge, your jurisdiction does not go beyond the boundaries of your state, so if any event happens outside your state, you don’t have the jurisdiction to deal with, it.” This conforms to the contention by many lawyers that an Enugu High Court judge has no jurisdiction in a matter that happened in Anambra State.
Obviously, the NJC is poised to sanitise the judiciary. Apart from the judges, who have already been axed by the council, Kalu Amah, chief judge of Abia State, was also investigated and found guilty of financial impropriety. In a letter dated October 7, 2002, the chief justice of the Federation told Amah that he was found guilty of fixing a total of N93 million of the money belonging to the judiciary in a fixed deposit account. Although the NJC concluded that it has no evidence of financial loss, it, however, reprimanded Amah and warned him to desist from such acts in future.
It is generally believed that the cleansing process, which the NJC has started in the judiciary would save the legal system and the nation’s nascent democracy from collapse. Anyakwe Nsirimovu, executive director, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian. Law, IHRHL, told Newswatch that the disciplinary action taken against corrupt judges would serve as a deterrent to other judges and bring an end to judicial recklessness.
Additional reports by Chuk Ehirim, Geoffrey Ekenna and Mathias Oko.
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