Abacha Approved 70 Years Retirement Age for Supreme Court Justices to Frustrate Abiola’s Bail Appeal, Says Retired Justice James Ogebe

* Urges NJC to appoint only most suitable candidates into the apex court

A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice James Ogebe, has revealed that former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, extended the compulsory retirement age of Justices of the Supreme Court from 65 years to 70 years in his bid to frustrate the hearing of an appeal against the bail of Chief Moshood Abiola, acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidèntial election, at the Supreme Court.

The revelation was contained in a book presented to mark the 80th birthday celebration of Rtd. Justice Ogebe over the weekend in Abuja.

The book which is an autobiography of the octogenarian is titled: Justice Under the Shadow of the Almighty; My Life Sojourn to the Nigerian Supreme Court.

The retired Justice who is reputed for his various landmark Judgments, one of which is the reversal of the impeachment and sack of Oyo State Governor, Rashidi Ladoja in 2005, in the 329 pages book with 15 chapters, recalled how God and fate took him to the peak of his career in 2008.

Ogebe who disclosed that he was twice denied opportunity of becoming the Chief Judge of Benue State, noted that the extension which at the time was an unfortunate situation however turned around to be a blessing in disguise for him and others that may not have ascended the bench of the apex court on account of their age.

“There is a very intriguing historical footnote to my ascension to the Supreme Court. When business mogul, turned politician, Moshood Abiola, was arrested after declaring himself President in the June 12, 1993 election, I was put on a panel of Appeal Court Justices who granted him bail.

“General Abacha’s regime did not take kindly to our decision and appealed against our decision to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court could not form a quorum because many of the Justices recused themselves since they had a libel lawsuit against Abiola’s Concord newspaper. There was accordingly, a stalemate because of shortages of Justices on the Supreme Court.

“Rather than appoint new Justices who would then form a quorum to hear Abiola’s bail case, General Abacha decided to extend the retirement age of Justices from 65 years to 70 years, to continue to keep Abiola in legal limbo. He therefore did not appoint more Justices before his sudden death.

“And, so, it was that a retirement age extension meant to frustrate a ruling I gave years before, ended up working for my benefit as I went to the Supreme Court at the age of 68”, he said.

The octogenarian also recalled the refusal of Justice Ayo Salami to ascend to the apex to fill a vacancy for North Central as another factor that led to his elevation to the apex court.

In another part of the book, the renown jurist, who has over 4,000 Judgments and over 1,000 rulings to his credit, emphasized the need for the appointment of only the best and most qualified into the bench of the apex court.

He said this was necessary because the Supreme Court is the policy court that guides all other courts in the country and that being the final court in the land places a serious responsibility on the occupiers.

He remarked that the application of the federal character policy in the appointment of Justices of superior courts has3 done more harm than good to the judiciary.

“It is my belief that the best human capital available in the country should be appointed to the apex court which is the policy court that guides all the courts in Nigeria.

“The federal character consideration in appointment has done considerable damage to the quality of Justices appointed to the Supreme Court.

“In all seriousness, a few appointments made to that court constituted a liability on the system. Some of these Justices were mediocre and were not suitable material for the apex court”, he said.

Justice Ogebe, who chaired the five man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which heard the appeals of General Muhammadu Buhari and that of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar against the election of late President Umaru Yar’ adua in 2007, advised Justices being considered for the Supreme Court to decline nomination if they are not sure of their ability to perform at that level.

He also advised the National Judicial Council (NJC) to always carry out a comprehensive scrutiny of candidates based on the performance evaluation, health status, character and integrity before appointment.

Meanwhile Nigerians at the occasion showered encomium on Justice Ogebe, whom they described as bold, courageous, firm and a man of integrity.

Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, who claimed to be one of the greatest beneficiaries of Nigeria’s Judiciary, described the retired Justice as a man of integrity, adding that Nigeria needs people like him to rebuild the country, which he said is deteriorating.

He said Nigerians should pray to God for leaders that would use public money only for the good of the people so that the country can make progress.

Also speaking, a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi SAN, urged Nigerians to have respect for the Judiciary, noting that Justice Ogebe who is being celebrated is a product of the nation’s judiciary.

“Justice Ogebe is a product of the Judiciary and so a tribute to him is a tribute to the Judiciary. Our respect for the Judiciary is unqualified, we must respect the Judiciary and should not go on stigmatizing it. There are many good people still in the judiciary like Justice Ogebe”, he said.

Culled from ThisDay