Executive Director of Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI), Femi Aduwo, speaks to DARE ADEKANMBI on the revelation by Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa at the closing session of the ninth Senate, the early activities of President Bola Tinubu, among other issues.
During the valedictory session of the ninth Senate, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, who is the husband of the immediate past President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa, revealed how he pressured his wife to help his colleagues who had court cases. Did this come to you as a surprise?
I watched the session live on TV and I was shocked. I just laughed. The judiciary, in a democracy, plays a crucial role as a watchdog over the other branches of government, that is, the executive and legislative arms. Its responsibility is to deliver justice in disputes between these branches and the people. Consequently, the judiciary has been regarded as the last hope of the common man.
Unfortunately, the reputation of the judiciary as the protector of ordinary Nigerians has been rapidly deteriorating. High-profile cases with questionable verdicts in recent years have fuelled doubts about the integrity of judges and the court system. Allegations of bribery and manipulation of judgments by certain judges have contributed to the growing lack of trust.
Senator Bulkachuwa’s comment has further reinforced this perception and exposed instances of judicial intimidation and interference by the legislative and executive arms of government. The loss of confidence in the judiciary has far-reaching consequences for society. A weakened judicial system not only hampers accountability and encourages impunity, but also leads to a breakdown of social order and a decline in respect for the rule of law. The image of our judiciary needs thorough cleansing. It is a judiciary that is akin to black market where anything goes, a kind of Jankara market where anything can be sold and bought.
Let me quote the Senator, “My wife, whose freedom and independence I encroached upon while (Zainab) was in office, and she has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment and extended her help to my colleagues.”
I can only describe Bulkachuwa’s confession as a monumental embarrassment to the judicial arm of government. By now, the National Judicial Council (NJC) should have made moves to review all the decisions and judgments made by the Court of Appeal on election matters under the leadership of Justice Bulkachuwa, especially those connected directly or indirectly with the ruling All Progressives Congress and opposition parties. After the meeting of NJC on Wednesday and Thursday, only the leadership of NBA spoke and condemned the senator. Our organisation, the Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI), believes in the sanctity of judiciary and something must be done urgently to redeem the judiciary.
It was not just Senator Bulkachuwa who spoke in a way that showed that our judiciary has lost its trust capital with Nigerians. I also watched the former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, who was bewildered about how Ahmed Lawan returned to the Senate. He said Lawan contested to be president and they were together on the field. He said the strategy used by Lawan should be studied. That is an unpleasant joke on the judiciary, including the Supreme Court.
Some people have recommended that spouses or children of judges and top echelon in the judiciary should not be allowed to contest election or engage in partisan politics. Do you support this call?
I think there should be more stringent reforms around issues that can influence the job of a judge. What I am trying to say is that if your spouse is a high public office holder in the state or at the federal level, then it should be a ground to deny such person administrative position, because being a judge involves so many things; part of it is that you rise through the process. So, in situation where the spouse rose to meet the other spouse at that level, then either of them should give way for the other, which I think is important. Regardless of what we are hearing about the judiciary, it will be improper to say there are no incorruptible judges in the country. But the question is: where are they?
Or probably, let us see how there is going to be a reform to see that there is a policy at those courts to state that if your husband or your spouse is a well-known politician, there should be a kind of cases that you can handle. It must not be the kind of cases that is going to subvert the interest of the populace like, we have in the video. We need to strengthen our justice system to avoid situations like this. This is so embarrassing. It is embarrassing for the records that she [Justice Zainab] would have kept over the years. It is embarrassing for her future. It is embarrassing for the entire justice system in the country and their children.
People are still asking the question today why a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt gave a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from investigating a former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili. That order has not been set aside till people. People believe this happened because of his wife, Justice Mary Odili who was a Supreme Court Justice. In that same state, we have another former governor who is controversial and whose wife is also a judge. It should be part of the sacrifice they will have to make going forward if we make a law barring spouses of judges from seeking elective positions or be restricted from holding certain positions. I remember that in 2019, the opposition PDP protested that Justice Bulkachuwa should not participate in electoral adjudication of election matters because her husband is a senator and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress.
This revelation should make the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to sit tight and be very careful with the kind of judgment they are going to give. All eyes are on them now, especially seeing what the judiciary did before which is coming to light now. The whole world is watching. We have seen technicality overriding the need to give justice. This particular revelation by Senator Bulkachuwa should not be swept under the carpet. People should keep asking questions and appropriate punishment should be meted to the people involved. The court of law is now different from court of justice.
How do you mean?
We have the court of law and court of justice in Nigeria today. In the court of justice, you will see that justice has been done, regardless of who is involved. The jurists in the kind of court are very few and they are men and women of honour. I can name politicians whose court cases have been pending for years. In the court of law, technicality is used to determine cases. That is the kind of court that produced Senator Godswill Akpabio and Lawan as senators. Now, look at the Imo governorship election judgment. The Supreme Court said Nwosu was the candidate of AA and APC. The court declared the sitting governor in the state as the winner of the election. He came fourth in the election. When Nwosu went back to the Supreme Court to seek redress, the matter was never listed till today. If eminent Jurists like the late Justice Akinola Aguda or Justice Kayode Esho or Justice Chukwudifu Oputa could see from their graves, they would weep for the kind of people we are seeing today in the judiciary.
The new president recently signed a law increasing the retirement age for Judges from 65 years to 70. That is not what these people really want. Some of them are old already even at 65 years. If they want to go at 65, they should go. Maybe that will reduce the madness that they have been demonstrating in the country. Even the NBA that should be shouting has gone mute. This is not the NBA we knew under the late Aka Bashorun as president. Those in NBA today speak as though they are PRO of government. We want to see NBA to condemn this descent and call for action. The rate at which things are going wrong with the judiciary now, soon there won’t be hope. The executive arm is reckless and the lawmakers are breaking laws with impunity, while the judiciary is not immune from corruption.
Despite praise being heaped on President Bola Tinubu by some Nigerians for hitting the ground running and showing encouraging signs that he will do well, you said in a piece you wrote that he has not done anything. Why?
Suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele as well as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa or appointment of Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chief of Staff don’t constitute an achievement. Sacking service chiefs is not an achievement either. Appointing new ministers is not an achievement. Every new government since 1960 does the same generic acts to build its own team. There is nothing new about disengaging appointees of the previous government. Also, signing expired bills without adequate review cannot be an achievement either.
With the increase in petrol pump price, people are saying the rich are also crying. Let us wait and see the calibre and size of the administration in terms of ministers, aides and more importantly, if leakages will be blocked. Forget it, the student’s loan scheme will not work. It is advanced subsidy scam. Tinubu must be resisted on increment of school fees at federal universities. What exactly are Nigerians benefiting from government? There is no fuel, no light; government hospitals have no free medicine; no road, no water. The constitution stipulates that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government.
All the chairpersons of the EFCC from Nuhu Ribadu to the last, Bawa, were removed unceremoniously. It has become a tradition. All of them have allegations of corruption against them. Do you know the irony of it? No single one of them has returned one cent. None of them has been prosecuted. People are now asking the question: is it a kind of game to cover up? I have my reservation about subsidy removal. Go out there and feel the pulse of the people. They are crying that their suffering has increased under a government that promised to work for their welfare. Some companies have reduced working days to three from five in Lagos. Soon, they will begin to lay off workers. Tinubu ought to have put palliatives in place before removing subsidy. We don’t want to see action on restructuring and fiscal federalism that he promised while campaigning.
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