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‘Judges should look at the law, not faces’

What is your take on the issue of judicial autonomy? Compliance with judgement of court order is part and parcel of judicial autonomy. This is…

What is your take on the issue of judicial autonomy?

Compliance with judgement of court order is part and parcel of judicial autonomy. This is because in any federal system of government we have the executive, legislature and judiciary. In most civilised countries they are equal and coordinate. None is greater than the other. There are meant to be checks and balances. The judiciary is supposed to be autonomous. But like I said, autonomy or independence does not mean isolation because it is the three that make up government. They have to work together to ensure that the national goal is attained. But in most governments, especially in third world countries, the judiciary though the oldest among the three arms in terms of history and calibre of people, is the weak one because they don’t control the fund. Members of the national assembly come and four, five, years or if you are lucky, you stay for some time. The executive, maximum eight years you are gone. During military regimes, you may have the judiciary but there is no national legislature, that is to show you how important the judiciary is. Even in a dictatorship there must be a judiciary.

For the past six years the allocation for the judiciary has been going down. The allocation this year from the statutory transfers has been affected by the exchange rate. Formerly we used to buy car at N16m, now it’s about N48m. In fact, why we embarked on the appointment of 10 judges is because of lack of funds. In figures it looks high but in actuality it is even less than the last 2 years. We have to fund the judiciary very well; security and law and the judiciary are necessary and expensive. You cannot spend money on security and rule of law and say it is too much.  The difference between Nigeria and other civilised countries of the world is that the rule of law is being followed, and orders of court are being followed. Look at the USA when Trump came out with his travel ban, it was only one high court judge in one state that gave order and it was complied with immediately by the immigration. In Africa they will start looking for the judge. All over the world due process is the guiding norm.

What is your view about calls for political restructuring of the country which is believed to be a solution? 

When we are talking about restructuring, what do we mean by that? Is it partitioning the country or merging the states? Or taking some of the powers of the Federal Government and giving to the states?  We have not come out with a clear policy. Restructuring or not the solution is obedience to the rule of law and doing things according to the rule of law, and due process being followed. If you are in Anambra State, Borno State, Kogi State or Delta State and the governor is following due process, what you are due, you will get it, you won’t care who is the governor. You just want to get the dividends of democracy.

Nigeria is like a jigsaw puzzle where everything is on the ground, and all you just need is to put everything together and I tell you within just two years she will be greater than even the United States of America. In Nigeria we have everything. Most of these countries know it. So, our problem is to get together but no country will progress if they disobey court orders and rule of law are not followed because the same person who is disobeying court orders will come to the court again asking for some indulgence. For us whether we are talking about restructuring or not, the main thing is to respect the judiciary, the of rule of law and due process.

Without prejudice to the cases against judges, do you agree that there is corruption in the judiciary?

If I say there are no corruption in the judiciary I will be lying. Even the Bible says that if one says he is not a sinner then he is a liar. David said right from my mother’s womb I was conceived in sin. But it is the whole society, not only the judiciary. If you say only the judiciary, who goes to them is it not the same society? There is corruption in the judiciary, executive and legislature. But we are trying to minimize it. There is corruption in America, UK, Russia, even right from the beginning of the world from Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve. But what every government is trying to do is to bring it down to a minimum.

But if you look at it the judiciary it is the only form of government that disciplines its own despite allegations against them. How many at the National Assembly with allegations against them have been dealt with? They are still there. But if you look at last year, how many judges have the National Judicial Council disciplined? Some retired or warned, others dismissed, some they refer them for prosecution. And yet all eyes are on the judiciary because the judiciary would not talk. And some you do not even prove they have taken anything, and the next thing you leave your job! And the unfortunate thing is that once you are retired as a judge or dismissed you can’t practice law again. 

Would you then say that Nigerians have not been fair to the judiciary given that the National Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations have also listed the judiciary among the highest bribe takers?

We have never been fair to the judiciary. But this time I am happy that the CJN responded appropriately to the report. Most of these things they are saying are not empirical facts, they are just following the newspapers.

But these organisations said they administered questionnaires to arrive at their data?

There are many people in Nigeria who have never seen a judge. There are about 200 million people in Nigeria, I know so many places in Lagos and Borno that were not counted during the last census, the population of judicial officers nationwide is about 1, 300. So, there are many people in this country who have never or will never see a judge. And are they the same type of people they gave questionnaires to fill?

Can you take us briefly into your journey as a judge?

There is the handwork of God in my profession, my career and my life. My venturing into law profession was not deliberate, it was God’s plan for me but I did not know. I attended Kuru Secondary School and passed out with Grade 1, the best result in our school in 1972. I was more in the sciences i.e. Chemistry, Biology, Geography etc all of which I got excellent result. When I got to A.B.U., Zaria my first choice was B.Sc. Agriculture and Law was my second choice. I was interested in becoming an Agriculture Officer because back then in the 1970s an Agricultural Officer was like an oil worker today! However, I accepted to read Law. You would recall that at that time there were no career counselors and what mattered was that you were in a university. 

What advice do you have for other judges wishing to reach the peak of their careers like you?

First, the fear of God, second, hard work because you must read; you must read your cases a day before. Make sure you are vast and study the case file. The most important thing I always tell my colleagues is that all cases are simple if you look at the law and apply it strictly. The cases will become the difficult if you look at the faces. Definitely when you give judgement one side may not like it, the other side may like it. But if you follow the law, you are home and dry; heavens will not fall. History will vindicate you because we have many judgements that were not popular but later they became the main law.

What will be preoccupying you now that you have retired?

All what I can tell you is let God’s will be done. So, I can’t tell you what I am going to do when God has other plans for me, just like when I read Law, I didn’t plan for it, it is God that put me there; I didn’t want to go to the Federal High Court, it is God that sent me there. So, what I intend to do now is I have worked for 39 years in government from 1978 to 2017. I have never slept in hospital. What I intend to do is to have some rest and then go into farming in my village. My dad by the time he died, he had a big farm area, I can go and farm there. Even when I was a magistrate in Biu, I farm there. Because I am far away, I think the place has become bushy, so I might go and clear it. Then, what is the whole essence of man: It is to serve God. And that is what I intend to do and improve the lives of people everywhere. It is not something I am going to rush.

 

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