Judicial corruption : ‘NBA doing far too little’– Adesokan
How best do you think lawyers can help in the fight against corruption? First, lawyers must adhere strictly to the ethics of the legal profession. The Nigerian Bar Association has a lot of work to do by ensuring that all lawyers abide by all professional ethics. We have been hearing of so […]
How best do you think lawyers can help in the fight against corruption?
First, lawyers must adhere strictly to the ethics of the legal profession. The Nigerian Bar Association has a lot of work to do by ensuring that all lawyers abide by all professional ethics. We have been hearing of so many cases of breach of professional ethics of late, and something urgent has to be done. The NBA will wait for somebody to report or write a petition against a lawyer before it investigates and charges the erring lawyer before the disciplinary committee. That is far too little. The NBA must have a mechanism for the continuous monitoring of the practices of lawyers on a regular basis. It’s just like the National Judicial Council monitoring the activities of judges. The NBA must move beyond waiting till the time a petition is written before taking action. It must be proactive. I have people who have closed their offices in London owing to the strict monitoring of activities of lawyers over there. They expect lawyers to abide by their rules, policies and guidelines. There is no mechanism in place by which NBA monitors the conducts of lawyers. A lot needs to be done in this regard. Structures that will ensure periodic monitoring of lawyers’ conducts and books of accounts should be put in place. All these things should be done on a continuous and systematic basis.
Do you agree with the assertion by the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, that the federal government and state governors are to blame for corruption in the judiciary?
Well, if the former CJN’s assertion was due to inadequate funding of the judiciary, I doubt whether we will have a time when the arm of government will be well funded. Sadly at the moment, we are in a recession. But, I agree with the former CJN that a lot more could have been done for the judiciary. A situation in which the judiciary has to please either the executive or legislature before it can get its entitlements leaves very much to be desired. We all know that an institution in which rank and file are underfunded will surely be exposed to corrupt practices. But I don’t think underfunding is solely responsible for corruption in the judiciary.
Besides underfunding, what other factors would you say are responsible for corruption in the judiciary?
It is unfortunate that all eyes are now on the judiciary and the legal profession. Perhaps, rightly so because we are supposed to be the watchdog. But the judiciary is operating within the context of a nation. The people in the judiciary are Nigerians. May be, we are expecting a bit of a higher standard, but by and large, the judiciary will surely reflect the Nigerians in it.
If an overwhelming populace of Nigeria are corrupt, it would not be strange that we find cases of corruption here and there in the judiciary. When you are in the devil’s country, you are not likely to see too many angels.
So, the impact of the society is bound to rub off on the judiciary. Regardless, I can say that the judiciary is not as bad as it is being portrayed in recent times. If you place the executive, legislature and judiciary side by side, the judiciary is still the best in terms of integrity. Judiciary is still the best of the three arms of government. There are more cases of corruption in other arms of government than in the judiciary. Comparatively, the corruption cases involving the judiciary are so few when you compare it with what we see in the executive and legislature.
How do you feel when you hear of corruption at the apex level of the judiciary? I mean when Supreme Court justices are accused of being corrupt?
These are still allegations yet unproven. If and when it is proved, it would be a sad day for the judiciary. At this stage, it is still an allegation.
Some of these judges that were suspended over alleged corrupt practices insinuate they have been presumed guilty already. What is your take on this?
The training I had is that I should never condemn anyone until I hear his or her own side of the story. No one can be found guilty of a crime until he has been tried in the court of law. Allegation can come from anywhere and inasmuch as it has not been proven, it still remains an allegation and the person still remains innocent. These judges are still innocent. Let them have their day in an impartial and properly constituted court. It is only when they are found guilty that we can be saying other things.
What do you make of the allegation by some of these judges that their travails are sequel to their refusal to do the bidding of some serving ministers?
For me, I don’t like commenting on newspaper reports. I depend so much on court records. Four journalists enter a courtroom to cover proceedings in a matter, but when they are writing their reports, it will be from different angles. So, I am not usually carried away by newspaper reports about court cases.
But copies of the letters written by these judges to the former CJN are already in public domain. Are you saying these judges are not the authors of these letters?
Allegations, counter allegations, accusations and counter accusations. Let the court decide the matter and come up with a position on the whole issue.
What is your take on a new policy by the National Judicial Council aimed at stopping media report on petitions against judges?
It is not fair to be having media reports about an issue under investigation, it puts the whole process in jeopardy. At the time when a matter is being investigated, you need much secrecy and privacy. You can imagine an allegation against a lawyer or even a judge. Allegations can be raised at anytime. You see, all these things have a way of affecting those concerned, particularly, when it has been reported in the media.
So, to avoid situations in which people are unjustly accused, there should be a time when the investigating authorities can quietly do their work. In this clime, people are only interested in knowing allegations; most of the time, they are not interested in knowing the outcome and hardly do we get as much publicity when it is finally resolved as it was reported when it broke. So, I will not like a situation in which matters being investigated are leaked to the public by the press. It is not good even for the system. In situations like these, vital witnesses may disappear while data evidences may be compromised.
So, I think the policy has a good foundation. The policy has a good reason because I see it more from the angle of protecting a process. But we must all play our part. I appreciate the reason behind the policy. But if there is a petition against somebody who has allegedly committed a crime and it gets leaked despite the best of intentions, the investigative agencies cannot be stopped from performing their jobs.
How best can the NJC be reformed?
The NJC is doing very well regardless of recent events. But it can do better. How many times have you found legislators sanctioning themselves? Is it because they don’t commit crimes? Are they not Nigerians? Are they not our leaders? Is there a special law for them? Look, like I said earlier, judiciary is far less corrupt than other arms of government. The NJC is a standing mechanism of the judiciary. Can you please tell me the equivalent of the NJC in both the executive and the legislature? On the contrary, they have been defending themselves. The other day we had allegations from the American Embassy concerning some House of Representative members, we all know how it was treated. But for the judiciary, the NJC is a standing mechanism and it is doing well. Of course, it can be improved upon and one of the improvements we are clamouring for is that lawyers should have greater voice in the decisions of the NJC. Lawyers should have more numbers and responsibilities in the NJC. Beyond this, we should not lose track that on a continuous basis, NJC monitors judges all over Nigeria. Happily, the Acting CJN, Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen, has promised to even co-operate with Mr President in this war against corruption. So, NJC can only get better. In recent times, negative attention is focused in that direction and this seemed to have rubbished all the gains recorded so far.
Do you think it is proper for the CJN to head the National Judicial Council?
Well, my opinion is that since the CJN is the leader of the judiciary, there is nothing wrong in having him as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Many Nigerians are sceptical about why Justice Onnoghen should still be an Acting CJN despite being the most senior judge at the Supreme Court. Why do you think President Buhari is reluctant to forward his name to the National Assembly for confirmation as the substantive CJN?
This is not the first time someone will be functioning in acting capacity. We have had cases of somebody acting as Chief Judge or Court of Appeal president. Some of these things need time and processes to complete. This is because when a judge is sworn-in, everybody knows when he or she will retire. Though, one would have expected a seamless transition, but it is not unheard of to have someone functioning in acting capacity. I don’t want us to see it as if the president is not disposed to having the man as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. There are procedures to be followed. Don’t also forget that the president is presiding over the whole country and in making decisions, he has people who advise him. I don’t want to give excuses for Mr President, but what has happened is not unheard of.
Are you in support of capital punishment for kidnapping offence?
Well, it is not the seriousness of the punishment that will deter people from committing crime. It is the likelihood that an offender will be caught and punished that will reduce crime. Even if it is a jail term of one year, no decent person will want the tag of an ex-convict. So, what we should do is not to be talking so much about increasing the punishment for an offence but the mechanism for improving on crime prevention, investigation and prosecution process should be put in place. People keep on committing crimes despite the tough punishment put in place simply because they know they will never be caught.
Do you agree with the view that the Supreme Court is overburdened and as such cases going to the apex court should be streamlined?
Definitely, the Supreme Court is overburdened and we need to restrict the right of appeal to the Supreme Court as it is. It is too wide. I personally felt that after the Court of Appeal, all other grounds apart from constitutional issues, should be by leave. There should be no automatic right of appeal, except it is on constitutional issues. Political cases now given priority above regular cases and that is why we are having 10, 15, 20-year old cases still pending at the apex court. So, I agree with the view that the Supreme Court is overburdened and that the right of appeal to the apex court should be curtailed.
What is your agenda for the Acting CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen?
I was pleased by what I considered to be his major response when he was sworn-in, that he is ready to co-operate with the president in his fight against corruption. I will be glad if we are able to see positive actions from him about his commitment to join in the war against corruption. I want him to focus on this war because it is threatening the institution which I am identified with. People are beginning to ask questions about the legal profession. So, I will be glad to see him tackle corruption in the judiciary headlong.