‘Judge accused of corruption should step aside’
What is the purpose of the Centre for Social Justice? The Centre for Social Justice works mainly on four key areas. First, the philosophy behind our work is mainstreaming the human rights perspective in all the phases of national and public life. The key flagship programme we have is the fiscal governors’ programme, which is […]
What is the purpose of the Centre for Social Justice?
The Centre for Social Justice works mainly on four key areas. First, the philosophy behind our work is mainstreaming the human rights perspective in all the phases of national and public life. The key flagship programme we have is the fiscal governors’ programme, which is about public finance management. We look at critical issues in fiscal responsibility, public procurement, budgets, government revenue and expenditure. We also look at issues about the audit and how the government money is spent and reported on. We take a very broad perspective and we look at it with respect to the livelihood of Nigerians, their welfare and standard of living, which are supposed to be the main concern of government. Part of the work we are doing is what we consider as rights enhancement. We look at the pure legal aspect of the work. We train and send people to states to monitor the work of the election petition tribunals and we issue a report at the end of the day, which shows whether they adopted the best practices. The rules they should be following are the rules of fair hearing, the various rules of court and of course how they were able to deliver substantial justice. We also engage in much litigation for the public good. We have a rich resource base. I think our website is one of the best sources of information in terms of public finance management if we remove the government agencies. There is a lot of documentation on all the budgets from 1999 until date. Our site is designed to provide critical information to help people make informed decisions.
To what extent has the organisation been able to achieve its objectives?
The bigger picture is to mainstream social justice in the public life. That big picture may not be realised in a day or in a month. What you may see as a good and big practice today, may not meet up to the standards oftomorrow with advances in learning, science and technology, and human civilisation. It may not even be achieved in my lifetime as the lead director for the Centre for Social Justice. However, we have seen some good progress in what we have done so far. Things we thought to be impossible a couple of years ago are being achieved. For example, we now have candidates reporting obligations on campaign finance. I think we are on the right track but what we need is many more Nigerians joining the struggle and being a part of what we are doing or defining what they want to do in the public interest.
What challenges does your organisation face?
In an outfit like this, there are usually various challenges. The challenge we see in Nigeria is that there are few groups and individuals working in the public interest. However, the biggest challenge is to leverage the capacity, the energy and the competencies of all those who are interested in change. Payment is another problem. We have to rely on lawyers to take some cases we come across pro bono. We have to find people who can accept little pay and still be prepared to work of the organisation. International donors now support most of the work we do and what we need is more Nigerians involvement.
What is your assessment of the past governments efforts to uphold social justice in relation to international standards?
We have not made sufficient effort at the government level. If we had, Nigeria would have been in a much better place. What do we invest in education? What do we invest in health? These two sectors are the building blocks in making sure that the poor are lifted out of their poverty. In essence, the past governments have not invested enough in the social sector for social justice to happen with particular emphasis on education and health. Not enough has been invested in social security. We have the highest number of children who are out of basic education in the world. The governments have not done enough because if they have, we won’t be at this stage today. First of all, our economy would have been more buoyant, secondly poverty and inequality would have reduced and thirdly, we would have been able to develop in terms of science and technology which will help us adapt more to our environment in these days of climate change.
The trial judge in the Senate president’s case is facing corruption charges and the Senate president’s lawyers want him to excuse himself. What is your opinion on this?
This is a court matter and we are not supposed to be commenting on it. However, honestly speaking, if I were in the shoes of the judge who is accused of corruption, I would step aside to clear my name because he is presiding over a tribunal of honour. If his name is cleared, he should come back. We can’t have someone presiding over others when he is being accused of a ‘heinous crime.’ I’m not saying the accusation is true but it does no good to the public perception of the judiciary or of those who sit in judgment over others, especially if they are dragged so low.
Some lawyers have been voicing their opinions on the actions of Senate president’s lawyers when they walked out of court when their demands weren’t met. Do you think their actions were justifiable?
We have the disciplinary council of the bar and the appropriate committee. If anyone feels they have offended the ethics of the legal profession, then, the proper complaint should be lodged with the appropriate authorities that will review their conduct and give them the opportunity to defend themselves. They will come out with their decision. So it’s not for me to say whether it’s good or bad.
The president announced his intention to establish 37 special courts in Nigeria to try corruption cases in a timely manner. Do you feel this is something we need?
If we look at the administration of justice in the country today we can see a huge backlog of cases. Cases can drag on and on for a very long time. This can be detrimental to the cases when the witnesses end up dying after a long period. Therefore, if establishing these courts will speed up the process and provide an adequate opportunity for people to defend themselves then we need them. If you are innocent but having to live with the charges for a long period of time until your name is cleared, it will have a negative impact on your image. So the earlier someone can be put away or have their name cleared if they are really not guilty, that would be better for both them and the society.