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Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice James Ogebe (retd) has revealed how the late head of state, General Sani Abacha, extended the compulsory retirement age of Justices of the Supreme Court from 65 years to 70 years to frustrate the hearing of an appeal against the bail of self proclaimed President, Chief Moshood Abiola, at the Supreme Court.
The retired jurist made the revelation in his autobiography to mark his 80th birthday celebration of in Abuja.
The book, ‘Under the Shadow of the Almighty: My Life Sojourn to the Nigerian Supreme Court’ was presented to the public in Abuja at the weekend.
The octogenarian, who is reputed for his various landmark judgments, one of which is the reversal of the impeachment and sack of Oyo governor, Rashidi Ladoja in 2005, in the 329- page book, recalled how God and fate took him to the peak of his career in 2008.
Ogebe, who disclosed that he was twice denied opportunity of becoming Chief Judge of Benue State, said the extension which at the time was an unfortunate situation, however, became a blessing for him and others that may not have ascended the bench of the apex court on account of their age.
“There is a very intriguing historical footnote to my ascension to the Supreme Court. When business mogul, turned politician, Moshood Abiola, was arrested after declaring himself President in the June 12, 1993 election, I was put on a panel of Appeal Court Justices who granted him bail.
“General Abacha’s regime did not take kindly to our decision and appealed against our decision to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court could not form a quorum because many of the Justices recused themselves since they had a libel lawsuit against Abiola’s Concord newspaper. There was accordingly, a stalemate because of shortages of Justices on the Supreme Court.
“Rather than appoint new justices who would then form a quorum to hear Abiola’s bail case, General Abacha decided to extend the retirement age of Justices from 65 years to 70 years, to continue to keep Abiola in legal limbo. He, therefore, did not appoint more justices before his sudden death. And, so, it was that a retirement age extension meant to frustrate a ruling I gave years before, ended up working for my benefit as I went to the Supreme Court at the age of 68,” he said.
The octogenarian also recalled the refusal of Justice Ayo Salami to ascend to the apex to fill a vacancy for North Central as another factor that led to his elevation to the apex court.
In another part of the book, the renown jurist, who has over 4,000 judgments and over 1,000 rulings to his credit, emphasised the need for the appointment of only the best and most qualified into the bench of the apex court.
