That sledgehammer on
Imo State Judges
“Something is rotten in the state…” . Taken from William Shakespeare, the play wright, who with prosaic and poetic overtones, fashioned the drama of existence.
Last week, the lmo State government in league with the National Judicial Council , NJC, sacked 10 judges over age falsification even as they are yet to field their replacements.
Our ten judges chronicled as and when due, by the powers that be, were said to have falsified their dates of birth. They must have found merit in the narratives of the hammered 10 judges.
You don’t repeat a gossip especially when they are destructive. I hereby refrain from naming them. If you praise what is lost, you make remembrance so dear. Thou shall not hear from my mouth that kabiyesi mother is a witch. I wish to remain economical with the truth. It does not run against the grain of professionalism. Or does it?
This is not the first time and shall not be the last NJC will find merit in a petition filed against judges for falsification of age. In December 16, 2020, the Council after a virtual meeting held in Abuja, discovered that both Shu’iabu Talba, the Grand kadi of Yobe State and Justice Abdulkareem Abdulrasaq of Osun State High Court falsified their dates of birth. Both got fired.
The petition against Ghandi Kadi Talba was then filed by one Malam Zakar Adamu, the Chairman of Movement for Justice in Nigeria. It was established beyond reasonable shadow of doubt that Talba falsified his age on two occasions, from February 1, 1955 to August 27, 1955 and later to December 30, 1959. Mathematics, the queen of scientific logic calls it “variable separables.” Findings revealed was that he was supposed to have retired on February 1, 2020 by virtue of his declared date of birth of February 1, 1955.
On the strength of the above, the Council, after deliberation decided to recommend His Lordship’s compulsory retirement to the then Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State. In addition, Council requested the Government of Yobe State to deduct all salaries received by His Lordship from 1st February, 2020 till date, from his gratuity, and remit same to the National Judiciary Council that pays salaries of all Judicial Officers to the Federation.
In the case involving Justice Abdulkareem Abdulrasaq, the NJ also recommended his compulsory retirement with immediate effect after it considered a petition that was lodged against him by Chief Yomi Aliyu, SAN.
Both Grand Kadi Talba and Justice Abdulkareem Abdulrasaq were immediately suspended from office until came the approval of the recommendation of their compulsory retirement by their respective governors.
As NJC hire and fire Judges, they also consider Preliminary Complaints of Assessment Committee either for rejection or acceptance, in accordance, respectively. That is the beauty of NJC operatives.
Back to that of lmo State. It is no exception. It is most unfortunate that 10 Judges have to be weeded off like that in one fell swoop. But the informed shouldn’t be in a lost world. The lmo State saga the hoopla of which has gone gaga is a mirror image of events and happenings in the entire Nigeria, a seemingly God’s experiment in the very impossible. Both the high and lowly are involved. Blessed are those whose iniquities are covered, for they shall walk on air and fly with coats of mail. I shield nobody, but all l’m saying is let there be measure for measure left, right, center.
In upholding and propagating what is right, there should be no sacred cow. Whoever falls short of that desired, should be treated accordingly. Our trouble in Nigeria is not only failure of leadership, but greed, avarice, jealousy and being fond of Pettiness that never belie our claims. Most of all, is the presence of the absence of patriotism, which is an emotion of love directed by critical intelligence. As a Patriot, we should always demand the highest standard and accept nothing short of the best for the common good of the greatest number.
We should be outspoken in condemnation of people’s short- coming but without giving way to superiority, despair or cynicism. As we finger out those whose selfish interests in short term are well served by mismanagement and social inequities, we must restrain from extreme adulation of a system and extremely pass ourselves off as patriots, vilifying those
who disagree with us as traitors. This is the spelling of a doomed definition of patriotism.
This definition would be as objective as a Rent Act devised by a committee of avaricious landlords, or the encomiums that a colony of blood – sucking ticks might be expected to shower upon the bull on whose back they batten. Spurious patriotism is one of the hallmarks of Nigeria’s privileged classes whose generally unearned positions of sudden power and wealth must seem unreal even to themselves.
To lay the ghost of their insecurity they talk patriotically. But there protestation is only mouth – deep; it does not exist in their heads nor in their hearts and certainly not in the work of their hands. True patriotism is only possible when the people who rule and those under their power have a common and genuine goal of maintaining the dispensation under which the nation lives. This shall only come to pass, when the last hope of common man – the judiciary dispenses justice and stop the paradigm shifting of goal post by tampering with their ages as to remain on seat, pending the coming of Son of Man- Jesus the designer of time. It shall only come to pass, when the welfare of the people rather than the advantage of the few becomes the corner – stone of public policy. That was and is a tutorial according to my father in learning – Prof. Albert Chinua Achebe of blessed memory. Take a message, the high and lowly. Back to Judiciary.
In our march of civilization, as the Courts’ annual long vacation beckons, l wish to send a memo to the Honourable Judges of the Bench and learned gentlemen of the Bar. I hereby appropriate your consent In this my looking inside from outside – an internal memorandum. Quickly, l put you on notice – a disclaimer, l’m not a lawyer and have no regrets of not being.
Good to go, Gotv neatly puts it. Very soon, all over the country, superior courts of record, from the High Court to the Supreme, will embark on their annual long vacation, starting from July to September or August to October, as the case may be. This, l understand is covered by the most rules of the courts Although most judges will be on vacation for 42 working days, some courts will still remain open to attend to the very urgent cases, especially the criminal cases that may involve custody. May this year’s vacation not be the usual annual ritual of formal absence from duty.
The Judges!!! They are human beings prone to foibles of human nature. They are of flesh and blood. They participate in the activities of human beings. Yet, they have to sit in court every working day from 9:00am to about 4;00pm daily, even though many are not punctual and some even sit four or five times a year and get cases so longed out. It is no skin off their snouts – professional misconduct of the highest order. To this day, under very much unconducive environment that conduce miscarriage of justice, many a Judge in this 21st century, still write in long hand. Many, are not of IT penetration.
A self – evident truth, a lot of Judges nurse varying degrees of ailments, on account of the hazardous nature of their job, sitting in a position all day long, all weeks and all months on end. They read and study volumes of records and addresses, analyze cases, prepare and deliver rulings and judgments on them all. See why the long vacation has been built into the courts’ calendar to give room for rest. You can now excuse their age manipulations as to measure up?
But action and reaction shall always remain equal and opposite – forceful embarrassment, retirement and dismissed. Nothing beats good name. There is something in a name.
My unsolicited advice. For Judges, it should not just be about rest and fun, but also personal introspection. Most of them are powerful eggheads but are overbearing. They don’t believe in tempering justice with mercy. If they were God, they will prefer unleashing hell. They forget what is now, has ever being. Let the world lift its bars? Easy, God disposes. Learned Judge, ask rhetorical questions and avoid analysis paralysis. Do you deliver judgment without justice? Has it all been technicalities bereft of substance? Has the law been improved more than you met it? What is your efficiency and effective score card? What has been the utility value of your efforts? More questions than answers.
My Lord’s, take stock and be self accountable. Improve yourselves as to improve public perception, which is presently at the lowest ebb, though largely instigated and influenced by powers outside the courts for other motives. Take the long vacation and reflect deeply on your cases and imagine what your clients and people feel about you. ” What do people say about me,” Jesus the Lord once asked His disciples. A lesson that what people feel about us should as well matter to us.
The judgments you churn out every day, do they satisfy the expectations of people about justice? Or are you out working for the satisfaction of NJC returns? Which part of the law have you made appreciable difference? What motivation have you brought to the judicial table?
Again, it bears repeating, that l’m not a lawyer still rings in my ear day by day and seems to make a lot of sense. But l read voraciously Law books and records and have litany of Lawyers as friends up to that of a distinguished Silk. So raise no eyebrow if l venture into the niceties of law. Infectiously, friends wield a lot of spheres of influence on us. Bairaman J.S.C. never cited any authority in the landmark case of Madukolu Vs. Nkemdilim that has become the bible of jurisdiction, since 1962, long before l came to Earth. Is that the way the learned men of Bench and Bar wish to leave it, just be quoting and adopting previous decisions, without any substantial impact or improvement?
Men of Bench and Bar should routinely undergo a comprehensive medical check – up. Early diagnosis is key to recovery. Judicial work l obtain a feeling is both mental and physical, very tasking and energy sapping at that. Technology has almost taken over all aspects of human existence. There is need to be compliant as to use technology to improve justice administration. Registrars should compile database of all lawyers having cases in their courts for their Judges as to open effective channels of communication, through emails, whatsapp etc. A. Suggestion, courses should be attended to improve justice delivery.
I guess the long vacation should be the time to bond with your respective families and not for painting towns and cities red, traversing the intercontinental shelves of the globe in search of next to nothing. If you must, then take them along in your jollification trips.
An expo to the heads of courts. It is good to plan your conferences to fall into the long vacation as to save litigants and lawyers the trouble of adjournment of cases during busy sessions. How about taking a chance to renovate the chambers of the Judges, to change their rugs and carpets, tiles, furniture, computers and other tools of business? Let the working environment be made conducive and most friendly. Most of the court rooms are dilapidated and many are as hot as furnace, no ventilation for fresh air. Most embarrassing, are the absence of conducive public conveniences in most of the courts.
Yet, for more than eight rock solid hours, day by day, lawyers and litigants remain in courts without adequate facilities for their welfare. The entire courts premises stink and provokes throwing up. The heavens are telling of our courts in the 21st century. Let the entire courts premises be cleaned and fumigated, the lawns and gardens properly dressed and the entire courts repainted to wear a new look and usher in the coming legal year. Day by day lack of light is sickening, to say the least.
Recall that ex- president Muhammadu Buhari granted legal financial autonomy to the Judiciary to be in charge of its finances. The government has since jerked up the filing fees and penalties, the costs have gone up and the probate fees are now prohibitive. So,why should things remain the way they are since men of the Bench and Bar are paying through their noses? Add salt to injury, most courts have no Bar centre, where lawyers can take pepper soup, sip drinks and engage in innocent gossips. It should not be all about legal arguments and dry advocacy.
Talk about the welfare package for the Judicial Officers and Staff. You cannot fight corruption with poor paid people. Can you now trace the remote and immediate causes of Judicial imperfect in Nigeria. Understand why they falsify their dates of birth and upon the Sledgehammer to that effect, can’t stop it outright. Let there be a review of the salary of the judges and the judicial staff. They are too poor and abysmal. The then prestige office is now a creature of history. Many of the upright judges are suffering and in spite of their worrisome cases, drive themselves to office and most of all, get kidnapped. Over with the Judges.
Enter the Lawyers!!! Pointedly speaking, the long vacation is more for the lawyers, who joggle between different courts, all year round. It is the same lawyer who will appear before the Magistrate’s Court, the High Court, the Federal High Court, the National Industrial Court, Election Petition Tribunal, Tax Appeal Tribunal, SEC Tribunal, Sharia Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, round the clock, as all these courts have different times and schedules. But for the long vacation by July ending most active Lawyers are already fatigued out and experiencing decline in productivity.
So, men of Bench and Bar in the coming up strong long vacation, read the entire practice books, such as Evidence Act, Rules of Court, Criminal Procedure Laws and such other practice books and journals that are your tools in the courtroom. Take a course in computer studies, in arbitration, in business or other law related matters.
Review your cases altogether, to tackle all pending assignments. Take stock of the past one year. How many pro bono cases have you attended to? Are you owing your staff arrears of salary and yet wish to travel abroad with your family? Too unfair. A labourer is due for his or her wages. Pay, God is watching. What has been your general impact of your practice on society? Stop and think.
Have you been misleading and extorting your Clients in the name of bribing judges, whom you don’t even have communication channel with at all? Time will soon expose your nefarious activities. Stop it right away. Embrace civility and decorum in the conduct of your cases, be transparently honest and tell your client the true position of the law, so that if he is in the wrong party he can make things right, instead of frivolous applications to prolong the case and extort money. Watch your back. Time is running out on you.
Alternate Dispute Resolution ( ADR) is a veritable means of conflict management. It is faster, better and even cheaper. Try it out when the need becomes so obvious. Take a break this long vacation, as not to break down
Elatedly therefore, let me believe, that l have been able to convince you and not to confuse you, that Judges and Lawyers, need and deserve the annual long vacation. Good day!!!
Written by Iyke Ibe,Owerri.
