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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, has assured there is no judicial gang-up against President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft crusade.
He said this to State House Correspondents, shortly after a closed-door meeting with the president at Aso Rock, Abuja.
The CJN insisted the anti-graft war is not losing steam and that while there are more than one party to an issue, the judicial system is fashioned in such a way that there must be winners and losers.
Onnoghen also warned Nigerians to desist from judging the judiciary’s performance in the ongoing anti-corruption fight as that could prejudice their perception about that arm of government.
Asked to respond specifically to allegation of judicial gang-up against corruption fight, Onnoghen said, “I am not going to speculate. I am lawyer and judicial officer. I operate on facts and the law. So, I can’t answer that question because I am not on everybody’s mind.“You are free to think whatever you want to think but I think you should be guided by facts and the law when it comes to judicial performance or discharge of judicial responsibilities.”He spoke with Onnoghen was reacting to government agencies losing four corruption-related cases, in court, last week, amid allegations of judicial gang-up.“I have told you that if you are not satisfied, the system is fashioned and designed in such a way that if you lose in the magistrate court and you are not satisfied; because someone must win and another must lose; so the loser has the chance of testing the decision on appeal.“When it comes to the judiciary, don’t be judgmental. When you are judgmental, you become prejudiced.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said it is reviewing last week’s judgements of the High Court on corruption-related cases.
In a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, assured Nigerians that government has appealed the negative decisions, “and will vigorously canvass its case at the level of the Court of Appeal.”
He also disclosed that all the judgments are being rigorously reviewed “to determine whether there were errors on our part or whether the government is the victim of mischief. The war against corruption is going to be long, tough and arduous, but, this administration is equipped, physically, mentally and intellectually, for the long haul. We must win this war because the law is our side, the people are on our side and God is on our side. This is only the beginning, so any setback will not deter or discourage us,’’ the minister said.
He appealed to Nigerians to continue to identify with what he described as “a titanic struggle. This is not Buhari’s war. It is Nigeria’s war of liberation from poverty, misery, sickness and wretchedness.’’
Mohammed noted that Nigeria cannot afford unnecessary technicalities as far as the war against corruption is concerned, especially because of the adverse and devastating consequences of corruption on the polity.
“Nigerians will appreciate more the grave and dire consequences of corruption when they consider that the $9.2 million found in a house in Southern Kaduna can finance the construction of one health centre in each of the 774 local governments in Nigeria and fund them for one year.
“Against this background, one can, therefore, imagine what Nigeria could have achieved with the $20 billion that was estimated to have been looted in the last 3 years of the immediate past administration, either in the areas of job creation or infrastructural development.
“The government is, therefore, more determined than ever to recover as much of this plundered funds as possible and use them to put our youths back to work, fix our roads and other infrastructure, equip our hospitals and universities and invest in electricity in order to bring our industries back to life and bring back some level of comfort to our homes and offices,’’ he said.
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen has assured that there is no judicial gang-up against President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft crusade.
He said this to State House Correspondents, shortly after a closed-door meeting with the president at Aso Rock, Abuja.
The CJN insisted the anti-graft war is not losing steam and that while there are more than one party to an issue, the judicial system is fashioned in such a way that there must be winners and losers.T
Onnoghen also warned Nigerians to desist from judging the judiciary’s performance in the ongoing anti-corruption fight as that could prejudice their perception about that arm of government.
Asked to respond specifically to allegation of judicial gang-up against corruption fight, Onnoghen said, “I am not going to speculate. I am lawyer and judicial officer. I operate on facts and the law. So, I can’t answer that question because I am not on everybody’s mind.“You are free to think whatever you want to think but I think you should be guided by facts and the law when it comes to judicial performance or discharge of judicial responsibilities.”He spoke with Onnoghen was reacting to government agencies losing four corruption-related cases, in court, last week, amid allegations of judicial gang-up.“I have told you that if you are not satisfied, the system is fashioned and designed in such a way that if you lose in the magistrate court and you are not satisfied; because someone must win and another must lose; so the loser has the chance of testing the decision on appeal.“When it comes to the judiciary, don’t be judgmental. When you are judgmental, you become prejudiced.”
