Senator Lawan Should Name The Wealthy Nigerians Buying Judgement

TheNigeriaLawyer Editorial 

It is everywhere in the media that Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, alleged that wealthy Nigerians buy court judgments. He made the allegation during the confirmation of Justice Abaze Abubakar Sadiq as the President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday 30^th May, 2019.

Lawan allegedly said:

“Ours is a society where people who have so much money buy judgements. I think that is not the type of society that we want.

“We want a society where those at the lowest line, the vulnerable, the disadvantaged, can go to court and get judgement because they deserve to get those judgements regardless of their socio economic status.”

With profound respect this statement is inappropriate. It is unbecoming of a person of his caliber, to wit, a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One is not to be mistaken as suggesting that people should be silent about the judiciary. Let’s be clear: In a democratic setting, every institution is necessarily a subject of criticism and to this general rule the courts are no exception. Judges are criticized all the time, and by all manner of people. Indeed, the courts are peculiarly the subject of the criticism of experts. Lawyers have regularly complained about the courts. Judges are not immune from pointed criticism. Like it or not, they are part of our political system. Besides, by the provision of section 39 of the constitution, every citizen is entitled to the freedom of speech and expression.

But where, exactly, should we draw the line on criticism of the courts? Historical practice and some reflection about the role of courts in our administration of justice system suggest several considerations. Judges are not politicians. Judges’ authority depends almost entirely on their public legitimacy. The strength of the judiciary lies in the command that it has over the hearts and minds of men, part of the Courts’ authority rests upon public confidence in the judiciary and it is important to the stability of society that the confidence of the public should not be shaken by baseless attacks on the integrity or impartiality of judges. Such attack upon the judiciary by a politician as Senator Ahmad Lawan, given his position in the society, would create a bad impression of the judiciary in the minds of the ordinary citizens and they would lose the trust they have in the judiciary and take up arms to settle their scores; they would no longer go to Court. It is unfortunate that Senator Lawan did not mention the name of any judge nor any wealthy man whom he knew gave money to a judge. Or was he talking based on personal experience? Attacking judges by inaccurate generalizations panders to public prejudice. It reinforces stereotypes about the judiciary. There may be few corrupt ones in the system but generalizing the whole judiciary as being corrupt should be stopped. People with such notions should come out with facts. It is disheartening that politicians will only commend the judiciary when decisions favour them but would call the same judiciary names when decisions are not in their favour.

It is important to maintain the respect and dignity of the Court and its officers because without such respect, public faith in the administration of justice would be undermined and the law itself would fall into disrepute. For the judiciary to perform its duties and functions effectively and true to the spirit with which it is sacredly entrusted, the dignity and authority of the Courts have to be respected and protected.

Any complaint against a judicial officer can be channeled to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for necessary actions. That is the appropriate procedure. There are replete of cases of suspension of judges following complaints filed against them. Example, a report by the Premium Times on February 21, 2013, stated that Justices Charles Archibong of the Federal High Court, Lagos and Thomas Naron of the Plateau State High Court were suspended by the NJC for alleged judicial misconduct. Again on February 28, 2014, it was reported by Ihuoma Chiedozie of the Punch Newspaper that two Judges were dismissed by the NJC. Justice Gladys Olotu of the Abuja Federal High Court and Justice U.A Inyang of the Federal Capital Territory High Court were both suspended for gross misconduct.

Therefore, People should not make sweeping statements based on prejudices against such a holy institution like the judiciary. If the public confidence in the judiciary is eroded, law and order which is sacrosanct could collapse unleashing a chain of distressing events. Therefore, all those who have the welfare and the interest of this country should be sensitive to this issue and contribute to strengthen and uphold the public confidence in the judiciary in every possible avenue.

TheNigeriaLawyer Editorial