Governor
Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State took advantage of a recent gathering of
eminent judges and lawyers to re-echo the issue of corruption in the
judicial arm of government and the bar. He chose a church service,
organised to mark the beginning of the 2015/2016 legal year in the
state, to make the point that if the war against corruption was to be
won in the larger society, it must first be won in the bar and the
bench. According to Fayose, the corruption in the judiciary is so
endemic that judges lobby to be appointed to serve in election petition
tribunals in order to make money and influence judgment in favour of
their friends in politics.
While corruption is widely known to have permeated every stratum and segment of the Nigerian society, its extension to certain critical areas of national life cannot but be a source of worry. Prominent among these critical areas is the criminal justice system at the apex of which is the judiciary. It is common knowledge that officials in the criminal justice system have been making the innocent to suffer while assisting the culprit to escape justice. Of utmost concern is that those entrusted with the vital aspect of sifting facts from fiction to ensure that the cause of justice is served have been partaking in dirty deals because of filthy lucre.
Distinguished Nigerians have, at different times, expressed serious concern about the damaging effect which the despicable conduct of certain judges has had on the character and honour of the judiciary as an institution. The late highly-respected Justice Kayode Esho and one of Nigeria’s foremost legal practitioners, Chief Afe Babalola, a few years ago lamented the emergence of billionaire judges on Nigeria’s judicial landscape. They were obviously worried that such an unwholesome development would result in the desecration of the temple of justice and the debasement of judicial integrity.
Governor Fayose no doubt chose the most auspicious occasion to send his message to the most appropriate quarters. He pointedly told the congregation largely made up of eminent lawyers and judges that judgments were being written for some compromised judges by lawyers. He said cases were being assigned to judges to do hatchet jobs while some judges were too timid to give judgments against the ruling party. He also did not forget to give the clergy a piece of his mind. He said most pastors had been playing to the gallery with their political sermons and questioned their competence to save souls.
Even in the outpouring of his lampoon, Fayose still acknowledged the fact that the judiciary was not without incorruptible judges who had been giving a good account of themselves in the discharge of their duties. This underscores the fact that the collapse of values has not obliterated the fact that there are in the various fields of human endeavour men of honour whose integrity is being sullied by the misdeeds of others around them. While judges, as mere mortals are not infallible, they should not be unaware that there is an irreducible minimum below which they should not perform. The expectations from them are high because of the enormous powers vested in them.
As being suggested by Governor Fayose, the judiciary should not be spared in the anti-corruption crusade. It has become the standard practice for judges found to have compromised themselves to be simply retired and told to sin no more. Corruption remains a crime regardless of whoever is involved. Seven Ghanaian judges whose cases are being investigated were recently placed on suspension in the process of ensuring that the law takes its full course. The approach should not be different in Nigeria.
Most of the high profile corruption cases have not resulted in conviction because they were wilfully bungled at the level of investigation. As it has often been alleged, those assigned to unearth fraud either ended up as collaborators or got instructions from above to hands off the case. Even in cases charged to court, lawyers are said to have been serving as links between judges and accused persons. This is why the establishment of two anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria has not reduced the penchant to use public office for private gain.
Although the anti-graft agencies have been striving to tell their own success stories, the fact is that most of the celebrated cases in the public domain have ended up as an anti-climax. The success stories they have narrated convey the impression that their capacity to combat corruption is largely limited to low-level political office holders. To effectively wage a war against corruption, the criminal justice system should be comprehensively reworked. The loopholes being exploited to frustrate cases should be plugged while the law should prescribe appropriate punishments for the judge, the lawyer or the investigator found to be invoved in perversion of justice or any unethical behaviour.
While corruption is widely known to have permeated every stratum and segment of the Nigerian society, its extension to certain critical areas of national life cannot but be a source of worry. Prominent among these critical areas is the criminal justice system at the apex of which is the judiciary. It is common knowledge that officials in the criminal justice system have been making the innocent to suffer while assisting the culprit to escape justice. Of utmost concern is that those entrusted with the vital aspect of sifting facts from fiction to ensure that the cause of justice is served have been partaking in dirty deals because of filthy lucre.
Distinguished Nigerians have, at different times, expressed serious concern about the damaging effect which the despicable conduct of certain judges has had on the character and honour of the judiciary as an institution. The late highly-respected Justice Kayode Esho and one of Nigeria’s foremost legal practitioners, Chief Afe Babalola, a few years ago lamented the emergence of billionaire judges on Nigeria’s judicial landscape. They were obviously worried that such an unwholesome development would result in the desecration of the temple of justice and the debasement of judicial integrity.
Governor Fayose no doubt chose the most auspicious occasion to send his message to the most appropriate quarters. He pointedly told the congregation largely made up of eminent lawyers and judges that judgments were being written for some compromised judges by lawyers. He said cases were being assigned to judges to do hatchet jobs while some judges were too timid to give judgments against the ruling party. He also did not forget to give the clergy a piece of his mind. He said most pastors had been playing to the gallery with their political sermons and questioned their competence to save souls.
Even in the outpouring of his lampoon, Fayose still acknowledged the fact that the judiciary was not without incorruptible judges who had been giving a good account of themselves in the discharge of their duties. This underscores the fact that the collapse of values has not obliterated the fact that there are in the various fields of human endeavour men of honour whose integrity is being sullied by the misdeeds of others around them. While judges, as mere mortals are not infallible, they should not be unaware that there is an irreducible minimum below which they should not perform. The expectations from them are high because of the enormous powers vested in them.
As being suggested by Governor Fayose, the judiciary should not be spared in the anti-corruption crusade. It has become the standard practice for judges found to have compromised themselves to be simply retired and told to sin no more. Corruption remains a crime regardless of whoever is involved. Seven Ghanaian judges whose cases are being investigated were recently placed on suspension in the process of ensuring that the law takes its full course. The approach should not be different in Nigeria.
Most of the high profile corruption cases have not resulted in conviction because they were wilfully bungled at the level of investigation. As it has often been alleged, those assigned to unearth fraud either ended up as collaborators or got instructions from above to hands off the case. Even in cases charged to court, lawyers are said to have been serving as links between judges and accused persons. This is why the establishment of two anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria has not reduced the penchant to use public office for private gain.
Although the anti-graft agencies have been striving to tell their own success stories, the fact is that most of the celebrated cases in the public domain have ended up as an anti-climax. The success stories they have narrated convey the impression that their capacity to combat corruption is largely limited to low-level political office holders. To effectively wage a war against corruption, the criminal justice system should be comprehensively reworked. The loopholes being exploited to frustrate cases should be plugged while the law should prescribe appropriate punishments for the judge, the lawyer or the investigator found to be invoved in perversion of justice or any unethical behaviour.
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