*Says Decision Will Provide Immunity For Corruption By Judges And SANs
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Former Director-General of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Popular Human Rights Lawyer, Chidi Odinkalu has lampooned the recent decision of the Supreme Court upturning the conviction of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Nwobike for alleged bribery and perversion of justice.
On the 20th of December, 2021, TheNigeriaLawyer reported that the Supreme Court unanimously nullified the conviction of the Lagos based lawyer on the grounds that the charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were beyond the scope of economic and financial crimes which the commission is statutorily empowered to investigate and prosecute.
In the 40-paged judgement delivered by Tijani Abubakar J.S.C, the Apex Court also held that Section 97(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State upon which the Appellant was convicted does not define the act it proposes to criminalize contrary the the constitutional stipulation spelt out in S.36(12) of 1999 Constitution, and therefore the conviction reached placing reliance on the said section is null and void.
However, in his reaction to the judgment through his twitter handle (@ChidiOdinkalu), the former NHRC Boss who is also renowned for being vocal against endemic corruption in Nigeria criticised the decision reached by the Supreme Court.
He tweeted;
“By this decision, the Supreme Court writes a #MagnaCarta for open corruption of judges, especially by SANs, with the assurance that they will enjoy judicial impunity from the highest court in the land. This is beyond disgraceful; it is irresponsible.”
According to him, the decision will provide cover for SANs and Judges to perpetrate corruption without legal consequences if apprehended.
The Supreme Court of #Nigeria commits #JudicialMalpractice in its decision today in the case of Joseph Nwobike…. There is no way to be diplomatic about this: this decision is atrocious & fails every test of responsible judicial decision makinghttps://t.co/7Nac4ZfUkg
— Chidi Odinkalu, CGoF (@ChidiOdinkalu) December 20, 2021
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