Mutinous Judges

When Jesus spoke of members of one’s household being his/her main enemies in Matthew 10:36, He must have foreseen the current scenario playing out in the Nigerian Judiciary.

Here is the gist. Judges being investigated for misconduct (euphemism for judicial corruption) by the National Judicial Council (NJC) are now devising means of fighting back, to ensure their careers aren’t terminated.

It is what Lai Mohammed will gleefully dub corruption fighting back, if opposition elements were picking holes in General Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war. However, those who aren’t big fans of the administration will tag the tango as ‘corruption fighting corruption’.

Well, let’s situate what is unfolding in the judicial circle. The judges, whose identities are being uncovered through Intels, are possibly borrowing the wisdom in the Yoruba saying; “eni to jin si koto, o ko ara yooku logbon” (the one who is down and out is a red flag). In about 22 years of existence, over 1000 errant judicial officers have bitten the dust in the hand of NJC, using its power of discipline. Some, ‘escaped’ with severance package. Hundreds, left with no payout. They were dismissed. Soon, many gotta go again. Petitions keep pouring in against the judicial officers, whose total number, before the latest appointments and retirement, was 1,129.

Of those terminated in the past, some resorted to litigation. A few had been successful, not because they weren’t guilty, but because there were gaps in the process of reaching the guilty verdict. Something like technical justice. Hmmm. One can’t forget in a hurry the viral joke about technical CJN. Yes, the old man, bungled his senate confirmation hearing, but the Council under him, has been technically-clinical in ridding the system of undesirable judicial officers. Fair is fair. Regardless of the misgivings about the CJN, especially how he got on the throne, he has set some records. Till date, he remains the only CJN in recent history to summon seven Chief Judges at a go, over internal abuses. That would have been close to a tsunami if all had been sanctioned for poor supervision of their jurisdictions, especially the irresponsible one who made a judge, who was just months on the Bench, a vacation judge. Well, those guys escaped with stern warnings from the CJN. The next set, may not be so lucky.

If monkey isn’t slain for another to see, monkey won’t fear the hunter. But before they are hunted down, judges under probe are fighting back. Recently, Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, delivered a shocking judgement, which practically invalidated all the disciplinary actions taken by NJC since creation. It was a ruling without precedent. A-listers in the system, both serving and retired, scrambled to save the institution. The attendant troubleshooting episode revealed one of the three judicial officers, on the panel, was under probe. Prepping a soft-landing, if convicted? Well, with the CJN as the chair of the Council being bulldozed, and head of the Supreme Court, the appeal, initiated against the weird ‘unanimous’ ruling, will certainly succeed and the ruling consigned to the dustbin of history. Reversing the ruling, must however, be grounded in sound jurisprudence, to be a reliable authority. It will amount to impunity for the apex court to cancel it out simpl, because the man at the top, is affected as NJC chair. No doubt, the ruling is derelict in constitutionalism. Available facts also point at immoral use of influence. But corruption must not be used in fighting corruption, fighting back.

Beyond using the Bench to fight the system, judges under probe, facing likely exit, are also reaching for the media, especially the New Media, to take on the system and its leaders. Now, chances are that, the last viral report you read about judicial corruption involving front-row leaders of the system, was sponsored by a judge. Chances are, that the next one you are likely to read about some alleged corruption saga, will have invisible but bold imprints of another judge elsewhere. . Who wan die without fighting back?

If Judiciary were to be a free field like politics, by now, media headline from the leadership would be something like “We have uncovered fresh plot to smear us”. But they said they can only been seen and not heard. In a society where the one shouting on the roof-top is not even heard, like that Telco advert, which claims one is invisible without data? SMH.

In my March 27 column, titled ‘Unending Plot to Sack Saleh’, I started by predicting that only God can keep the NJC Secretary, Gambo Ahmed Saleh, till his June 3, 2029 retirement date.

Widely-acknowledged as the engine room of the Judiciary, it is evident those plotting the total takeover of the Judiciary, aren’t relenting in seeking his scalp. They have active collaborators within the system.

Saleh’s travails began with his emergency as the man for the job, dusting establishment’s favoured candidates. If you are promoting an olodo (unintelligent fellow) for an intellectual contest and he fails, how does the victor become your enemy. The day Saleh was announced as NJC’s new secretary, Attorney General of the Federation filed a bogus suit, claiming he stole N2.2 billion;  money spent when he was yet to be appointed the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court where the alleged corruption took place. When Malami realized his error of framing an innocent fellow, he quickly withdrew the suit. Strangely, Malami didn’t go for the former Chief Registrar(s), who did the disbursement. The SAN just discontinued the suit. But it seems there is a determined effort to ensure Saleh isn’t left behind, with Judiciary still in his hand, by the time the SAN is leaving office. Now, the 2017 dead case is being exhumed, with a claim that there was a plea bargain. In a suit wherein the wrong person was charged and quickly withdrawn when the folly was realized? The renewed media onslaught was traced to a judge under probe.

The equation here is simply. Saleh is the administrative head of NJC. He participates in disciplinary process. If tarred with corruption brush, it would become a case of corruption fighting corruption when the errant judge is finally called to account for her (yes, a she) misdemeanor. How low can it get for the “last hope of the common man”.