The Transparency International has listed the Nigerian judiciary as the second most corrupt public institution in Nigeria. This does not come as a surprise taking into recognizance the events of the last few months, and the ones that are still unfolding within the judiciary. We have seen some judges faced corruption charges. In fact, the former CJN, Justice Onnoghen, was removed from office via an ex parte motion granted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal. In the recent past, we saw the DSS operatives breaking into judges’ homes in the wee hours of the night in what they called a sting operation, arresting a handful of them in the process. In spite of these hue and cries by the general public, members of the legal profession appear undaunted and carry on as if everything is normal. We heard the NJC commending President Muhammadu Buhari for accepting former CJN Onnoghen’s voluntary retirement, and recommending Justice Tanko Mohammmed for the CJN position. Corruption in the judiciary is alarming. Transparency International was only being kind. The organization did not tell us anything new from what we have known all these while. It is time we unveil the judiciary. Some will say that there are few bad eggs in the judiciary. That is an understatement. There are so many bad eggs in the judiciary that need to be flushed out. Worst of all, the institutions created to curb or discipline erring judicial officers are toothless bulldogs or at best, not functioning. Take for example, the NBA that is supposed to be the watchdog is not doing much. The NJC lacks the willpower, and was literally begging the President to accept Justice Onnoghen’s voluntary retirement. So long the NBA continues to have the kind of leadership it has institutionalized over the years; judicial corruption will continue to be a recurring decimal.
Mark you, judicial corruption is not only when a judge takes bribe, it also occurs when the judge stands the law on its head or refuses to adhere to a principle of law already accepted to be an authority on the issue or refuses to answer a poser placed before it, in order to achieve a desired purpose or end. The level of professional decadence in the judiciary is nothing to write home about. The situation is not helped when it seems that the only remedy to the aggrieved is to seek the intervention of the appellant courts. Example, when a judge refuses to hear a motion no matter the merit; that should amount to judicial misbehaviour which should attract sanctions from the NJC. But it seems that in such a situation, all the counsel is urged to do is to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal. Until judges are booked for judicial misbehaviour in the course of their judicial duties, corruption in the judiciary will continue to fester. This is where I refuse to subscribe to the rule (which of course is not in any book) that a judge cannot be tried for a crime without clearance from the NJC. Since judges don’t enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution, I don’t see any reason to get the clearance of the NJC before that judge can be put on trial. There is no such law in this country. If a professional misconduct also amounts to a crime, and a complaint is made to the NJC, it can take disciplinary action against such a judicial officer. Where the complaint is made to the EFCC, DSS, Police or ICPC, they can institute criminal prosecution against the judicial officer. There is nothing wrong in this. Members of the legal profession should stop protecting their own unjustifiably.
The verdict of Transparency International should serve as a wake-up call to the NBA, NJC and others. We must expose and shame these criminals in our fold. This is the reason the President ignored all the rules, including the right to fair hearing in removing the former CJN, Walter Onnoghen from office. Transparency International has not told us anything new. That is why since the report was published, members of the legal profession have remained mute. When a judge implores technicality to avoid substantial justice, that judge is corrupt. Therefore, he is unfit to be a judge.
Chimezie Elemuo,Legal Practitioner, Port Harcourt.