FEATURE ARTICLE

Temple Chima UbochiTuesday, October 11, 2016
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Bonn, Germany

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CORRUPTION IS A CRIME, NO MATTER WHO COMMITTED IT (1)

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Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice, and they are also the most protected (Alan M Dershowitz)

Take all the robes of all the good judges that have ever lived on the face of the earth, and they would not be large enough to cover the iniquity of one corrupt judge (Henry Ward Beecher)

We must remember that we have to make judges out of men, and that by being made judges their prejudices are not diminished and their intelligence is not increased (Robert Green Ingersoll)

While teaching, I also worked undercover in the lower courts by saying I was a young law teacher wanting experience in criminal law. The judges were happy to assist me but what I learned was how corrupt the lower courts were. Judges were accepting money right in the courtroom (Samuel Dash)

was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, when the news broke that the DSS arrested two Supreme Court judges and five high court judges. First of all, I must say that anybody who is corrupt should face the law, no matter his or her status in the society. The law should be no respecter of persons; as such, all should be treated equally before the law (all is equal before the law). Wikipedia wrote that there is an old saying that 'All are equal before the law.' The author Anatole France (1844-1924) said in 1894: "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, and steal loaves of bread." The belief in equality before the law is called legal egalitarianism.

Whether a judge, a politician or an ordinary person, a criminal is a criminal! As I wrote previously, the judiciary, as one of the most corrupt institutions in Nigeria, can't be an unbiased partner in the war against corruption it is supposed to be the arrowhead. Because most of the judges and lawyers have betrayed their calling, is the reason they have no moral ground to dispense justice to anyone, and that's why suspects treat them with ignominy, and that must be the reason the DSS had the gut to arrest some of them now. Previously, judges were deemed, albeit wrongly, the untouchables of the society. The men and women of the bench are now being disrespected, because many sold their prestige for a plate of porridge. Because of the character of the men and women of the bench, suspects, as Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, once pointed out, "employ mundane strategies that ridicules the administration of justice, scandalize the judge, appeal where there is no right of appeal, and apply for a stay of proceedings to frustrate their trial, rather than face the due process of the law."

All sides erred here:

The Judiciary:

Igbo Proverb says that "he, who fetched firewood infested with ants, invited the lizards for a picnic". As I pointed above, the judiciary is one of the most corrupt institutions in Nigeria, and as one of the institutions that is supposed to be at the forefront of the fight against corruption, it must be purged of its bad eggs, before it can play a positive role here. Most of the judges can't be corrupt, and still be able to objectively try and convict the other corrupt persons from the other segments of the society.

As I wrote before, the guiding principle in the anti-corruption fight will be totally lost, if the "almighty arbiter" in a corruption case is found enmeshed in corrupt practices, and yet, wants to prosecute other corrupt persons.

The point is that most of our judges are corrupt. We know that many judges have come under the hammer of the National Judicial Council due to misconduct and bribe-taking. Some of the judges were even disrobed. Another point is that the law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, the EFCC, the ICPC etc are all weak and need to be strengthened, before they can be able to make any meaningful impact in the war against corruption. A judiciary of undisputed integrity is the bedrock institution essential for the war against corruption, but, Nigeria doesn't have it. This makes one to wonder where President Buhari will get the judges, who are incorruptible, who would sit at the proposed anti-corruption courts to try looters of our patrimony. People have rightly said that the Nigerian judiciary has been conspiring to undermine the anti-corruption fight in Nigeria. Even if Buhari establishes anti-corruption special courts, the members will still come from the corrupt judiciary, and there's no guarantee that they, the members of the special courts, are those who have developed "thick skin" against corruption.

The war against corruption has even ended before it has begun. The Chief Justice of Nigeria rightly pointed out that high rate of corruption in Nigeria (Africa) thrives on lack of accountability, transparency and weak government structures. The Chief Justice hit home by asking the key actors in the judiciary sector, in Africa, to beam their searchlight on the allegations of corruption against members. Because, if those who should dispense justice are corrupt themselves, then nothing can be achieved against corruption, because you can't fight corruption with corruption! That's what I have been asking President Buhari to do; to strength and empower the institutions and the structures before embarking on his hyped war against corruption. Who will fight the war for him? While addressing his learned colleagues, last year, at the annual conference of the Pan Africa Lawyers' Union, with the theme, "Combating corruption: The role of the legal profession in Africa", the Chief Justice added that excessive concentration of power in the executive arm of government also breeds corruption, and that's what Buhari should know, because, the way he's operating as president is corruption, although he might not know it due to his level of understanding, therefore, there's no way he will win the fight against corruption, when his actions, inactions and utterances are tantamount to corruption. The clamp down now, no matter its good intention, was carried out wrongly, and President Buhari did this because of the tremendous power placed in his hands as the President of Nigeria, coupled with his dictatorial tendencies.

The government:

An Igbo Proverb says that "the rat should not intentionally bite on the native's doctor's bag, and the native doctor should not intentionally roast the rat's mouth (in fire). (Oke amalama taa akpa nwadiba, nwadiba amalama hua oke on� n'�k�.)".

Although I hit the judiciary hard above, but still, the war against corruption should not be selective and vindictive, in other words, not only the judges who refused to bend the law for the government should be singled out for prosecution. Charles Ogbu wrote that "Regardless of your political affiliation, if you have any stake in the country called Nigeria, last Friday night's abduction of Judges of the high Court, appeal court and Supreme Court by Operatives of the Nigeria Secret Police, known as the DSS, over allegation of corruption, should give every Nigerian a cause for concern. The barbaric manner the whole operation was conducted suggests that rather than an attempt to cleanse the judiciary of corrupt Judges, it was a clear case of vendetta by the Muhammadu Buhari-led executive arm of the government against another independent arm. A betting man would bet that this is nothing but a ploy to get back at some judges who have given unfavorable judgments against the APC, like in the elections petition cases; the DSS, as in the case of Nnamdi Kanu where Justice Ademola ordered the DSS to release the IPOB leader unconditionally; and the Executive arm of government in general, like the ongoing corruption cases where judges have refused to do Buhari's bidding of jailing suspects even without enough evidence".

How can anybody understand it that in the wee hours of Saturday, October 8, while many Nigerians were fast asleep, many didn't know that President Buhari was perfecting his plans to subvert our democracy? I wonder what those who deluded themselves that Buhari is a changed democrat will say now. I have maintained it that Buhari still harbors his dictatorial tendencies, and now the clamp down has begun. I warned Nigerians that Buhari is dictatorial, vindictive and clueless, but many thought I was crying wolf. Now, see how President Buhari has crossed the Rubicon, as he doesn't know that there's something called the separation of powers enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution. The three branches of the federal government (the executive, the legislative and the judicial) should be separate, independent and should accord each other mutual respect, but, Buhari doesn't know what the principle of separation of powers is all about. He thinks that as the president, all must "bow down before him". The daily signal, on January 06, 2012, wrote that: "The principle of separation of powers states that the executive, legislative, and judiciary powers of government should be divided into different branches and not concentrated in one. These departments should be separate and distinct because of the corrupting nature of power. If the body that made the laws could also enforce them and adjudicate disputes, it would likely do so in a preferential manner, undermining the rule of law and basic fairness. Power, in other words, must be checked, or it will be abused. In the Federalist Papers, James Madison calls the combination of legislative, executive, and judicial powers "the very definition of tyranny."

President Buhari has started arresting judges, and mostly those who have refused to dance to his tune. What he wants to achieve by this is to instill fear in judges, thereby compromising the judiciary, as he did to the national assembly, so that he will be using them, the judges, for his bidding. I warned that all those who crossed up Buhari, no matter the time it happened, should be ready, as the payback time is coming. And that time has just arrived. Tell me the type of democracy we are practicing, and the kind of Change Buhari has brought, for an official of the Federal Ministry of Justice to boast that: "The Federal Government has commenced the arrest and detention of some corrupt judges as part of its effort to cleanse the judiciary. This exercise has just begun and will continue until the bad eggs are flushed out to give the country a new lease of life. "The operation may not be concluded tonight but I can assure you that we will carry it to a logical conclusion in the overall interest of the nation."

In saner climes, the judiciary cleanses itself, without the executive branch enmeshing itself in it. The government has no right to invade any judge's house by 1 AM, and nobody's home should be broken into, under any guise, just to arrest anybody, without the required permission from a competent court. How can those judges be sure that those men, who besieged their homes with black mask over their faces, in the wee hours, were not armed robbers masquerading as DSS personnel? Just as Daniel Elombah posted, "I support that corrupt judges should be investigated and dealt with according to the law, but it should be done within the constitutional provisions; with decency and without bringing the bench to disrepute or ridicule. Now it is the turn of the Judiciary... Nigerians Under Buhari Gate!"

The government and its agents also erred by manhandling a state governor, who is the chief security officer of his state. Submerging the whole exercise of purging the judiciary of its bad eggs into deception will be counter-productive, afterall, the ignoble treatment of the judges, no matter how corrupt they are, will evoke sympathy from their colleagues, some of whom will sit in judgment against them, and there will be no way those trial judges would convict their colleagues, if they feel that the government has demeaned the bench and brought their respected colleagues to disrepute. Buhari should know that he can't win with this system, because the judges are corrupt, and will protect each other. The point I'm making here is that two wrongs can't make it right: even if the judges are corrupt as accused, the government shouldn't also use wrong or extra-judicial means to arrest, try and convict them.

How can this government arrest two Supreme Court judges and five high court judges, just like that, without exhausting all the legal options? And the security agents, probably acting on Buhari's instruction, were ready to do anything to get their assignment completed, that they even threw caution to the wind, and when Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State attempted to stop them from abducting a Judge from his residence in Port Harcourt, he was allegedly manhandled by the men of the DSS and the Police who came to whisk the judge away. If a governor can be so treated, then who's safe again in Nigeria? Just as the governor rightly pointed out "What has happened this night is unfortunate. Even in military government, it has never happened like this. All I expected the security men to have done was to invite the judge, and if he had ignored the invitation, then other legal steps should have been taken". The governor went on to say: "The DSS cocked their guns and said they will shoot me. And I told them I have never heard this type of thing happen before. Again this is to show that more of this will come". Wondering why the security men will choose 1 AM, in the morning, to storm the residence of the judge, the governor concluded that their action portend danger for the nation's democracy.

Adding to the above point, Evans Chime Arimadu posted this (on the day of the raid): "Buhari's DSS now invading JUDGES houses to forcefully arrest them and in the process threatening to shoot a sitting governor! Remember Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who told DSS never to come to his court until his previous ORDERS are obeyed? His residence was invaded by armed men of the DSS! Also, during the early hours of today, hundreds of DSS operatives and policemen attempted to illegally abduct a Federal High Court judge residing at Number 35 Forces Avenue in Port Harcourt. The illegal failed abduction was led by Mr. Tosin Ajayi, Rivers State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr. Francis Odesanya. The operatives of DSS reportedly rough-handled Governor Wike, pushing him around and injuring his hand! A few of the operatives cocked their rifles and threatened to shoot the Governor. They were irked by Governor Wike's arrival at the scene shortly after the failed abduction process began.

They started with invasion of Akwa Ibom State Government House, and then they invaded Ekiti State House of Assembly. Those who should talk then kept silent. Now the Judiciary is under siege. Next is the MEDIA. Followed by ordinary Nigerians. Nigerians, remember we warned you... a DICTATOR will forever remain a dictator.

Bye bye Democracy!"

To be continued!

TIT BITS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ9vkd7Rp-g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-yYKvHp2sw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrLkTZrPZA4

THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!

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