August 07, 2003
Salvaging the Judiciary
OurRights appears every Tuesday or Thursday in ThisDay newspaper.
On Wednesday July 30, a dramatic twist of events in the on-going trial of Senator Iyiola Omisore saw another judge, for the third time, withdrawing from the case and sending the case file to the Chief Judge of the State (Oyo State) for re-assignment to yet another judge. Senator Omisore is standing trial for the murder of former Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, Late Chief Bola Ige, SAN.
The trial Judge, Justice Moshood A. Abass, attributed his sudden withdrawal from the case to “untold pressures from unexpected quarters”. Justice Abass further revealed that he was inundated with telephone calls threatening him and members of his immediate family. Before Justice Abass took over the case about a week before his withdrawal, two other judges, Atilade Ojo and Olagoke Ige, have had to withdraw from the case one after the other at the instance of the defence and prosecution respectively. However, in announcing his withdrawal, Justice Abass underscore the need to uphold his oath of office as well as the solemn pledge to administer justice without fear or favour which he made when he became a judicial officer.
No doubt, this development is unhealthy for Nigeria’s fledging democracy. One can not but commend Justice Abass’s exhibition of judicial bravery and courage by alerting the watching public on the extent that the interests at play in the murder case are prepared to go to thwart the course of justice, and like the biblical Pilate washing off his hands from such a messy affair. With this revelation, a myriad of questions will ordinarily begin to agitate the mind: What kind of pressures is being exerted on the judge? What constitute the unexpected quarters? Can’t the PDP government ensure that the trial of Omisore is transparent? Or is this another party affair? What is the National Judicial Council (NJC) doing to ensure that the integrity of the judiciary is kept intact?
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognises the judiciary as the third arm of government and provides safeguards guaranteeing its independence; again the current democratic dispensation provides the needed framework for the judiciary to assert its independence, yet it appears the judiciary has allowed itself to become a willing tool in the hands of politicians and thereby compromising its independence and integrity as the harbinger of justice. It is thus pertinent on the NJC to brace up to the challenge of restoring confidence in Nigeria’s judiciary.
It is disheartening to note that in recent times public confidence in the judiciary is being seriously eroded; and unless and until extraneous factors that are rudely interfering and bent on manipulating justice are exposed and dealt with in the full glare of the public, the dwindling confidence cannot be restored. If allowed to continue, such trend will only portend danger for Nigeria’s democracy.
CRP therefore calls on the NJC to take on this challenge immediately. Justice Abass has given useful insight, it behoves a patriotic supervising institution to make good use of the lead. Nigerians are interested in knowing the “untold pressures” and the “unexpected quarters”, the NJC has to conduct inquiries and make its findings public.
Copyright© 2005 Constitutional Rights Project (CRP). All rights reserved.
Our Rights Column |