* Says Recent Executive Actions Were Not A Genuine Attempt To Address Any Perceived Wrongdoing In The Judiciary
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The Managing Partner of S. P. A. Ajibade & Co., Dr. Babatunde has said that there cannot be peace and security where there is no justice and that the judiciary has a great role to play in seeing that peace and national security is restored to the country.
The learned silk made this statement on Tuesday, during NBA Kano Branch, Law Week held at Meena Event Centre, Lodge Road, Nassarawa, Kano.
Speaking on the theme, “Security And National Development: The Role Of The Judiciary”, Dr Ajibade gave a brief talk on the prevalence of injustice and attendant insecurity.
He also lamented on the executive lawlessness and the unacceptable persecution of lawyers in the country.
According to him, the anecdotal evidence is to the effect that the problem Nigeria is facing with the Boko Haram terrorist group was exacerbated by the extra-judicial killing of the group’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf in July 2009.
“Whilst the Boko Haram sect was already causing problems, it is widely believed that it was the injustice meted out to its leader and the failure of the police authorities to afford him a hearing prior to his summary execution that caused the Boko Haram menace to spiral out of control.
“Similar views are held concerning the situation in the Niger Delta. It is believed that the perceived injustice meted out to Ken Saro Wiwa and others like him who agitated for the control of their region’s natural resources, was the immediate cause of the militancy and insecurity there. As stated above there can be no peace and security where there is no justice.
“What then is the role of the judiciary in all this?” he asked.
“The judiciary has a role to play in establishing peace and national security by giving just decisions. The judiciary must be seen as willing to play its role as the gate-keeper who keeps the other arms of government, the legislature and the executive, in check.
“The judiciary keeps the legislature in check by exercising its power to declare legislation or legislative action unlawful in appropriate cases and keeps the executive in check by declaring its actions unlawful in appropriate cases. The just and judicious exercise of these powers are the role the judiciary plays in the maintenance of peace and security in a democratic and civilized society, such as we purport to have in Nigeria.
“Once the judiciary has exercised its power of decision making, the expectation of resultant peace and security is then entirely dependent on the willingness of the other arms of government to recognize and abide by the judiciary’s exercise of its adjudicatory power.
“Alas, as we are all aware, the executive arm of government has made clear that it is unwilling to abide by the decisions of our courts except where those decisions are to its liking.
“The instances of the executive’s refusal to abide by decisions and orders of the courts are now notorious and need no recounting. However, this executive lawlessness is taking a new and alarming dimension where the legal profession is concerned.
“There is now occurring with increasing regularity, incidents in which lawyers are being targeted and persecuted by agents of the executive for carrying out their lawful duties.
He recalled three incidents where lawyer O. J. Obasi of Onitsha bar was brutalized by the police, another lawyer, S. M. Kachalla from Maiduguri Branch was also assaulted by the same security agent and the news about lawyers who acted against the Nigerian government in its dispute with P & amp; ID, which resulted in a multibillion Dollar arbitral award being made against Nigeria are also being persecuted on the basis that they were unpatriotic to have so acted!
“These actions of the executive and its agents constitute existential threats to our profession, to the rule of law and to any pretense we make to be operating a civilized democracy. A situation in which lawyers are prevented from carrying out their lawful duties, because they are fearful of the authorities is the most obvious sign of the ascendancy of tyranny.
‘We saw the incipient signs of this malaise played out in the treatment that was meted out by the executive to the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria and even prior to that, when agents of the executive raided the homes of judges in the thick of the night.
“Whilst opinions vary as to the culpability of some of the judicial officers targeted in these actions, there is no doubt in my mind that these executive actions were directly targeted at cowing the judiciary into submission and were not a genuine attempt to address any perceived wrongdoing in the judiciary,” said Dr. Ajibade.
He further said that the recent uptick in attacks on lawyers makes clear that it is not only judges that are under attack but our entire profession.
He urged all members of the profession to stand strong together in solidarity.
“We must eliminate the dichotomy between the Bar and the Bench. We must retain that common bond. Judges by the nature of their office cannot agitate or speak for themselves. Nonetheless, they are our colleagues and we all play an essential part in the administration of justice.
“It should be one of the cardinal objectives of the Nigerian Bar Association to ensure that the welfare and working conditions of judges is a matter of paramount importance. It should also be one of the cardinal objectives of both the Bar and the Bench that we self regulate effectively and eliminate any justification for the dangerous incursions that are being made into our independence.
He concluded by saying that tyranny can only prevail where there are no lawyers ready to stand their ground and fight against it.
“We are at that stage now in our national life where we as members of this noble and honourable profession must stand strong and resolute to resist oppression and tyranny.
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