Date Published: 03/09/10

To Chief Justice of the Federation: Let sleeping dog lie By Martin Francis 

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I would like to draw your attention once again to what ‘Justice’ means and Nigeria falsified meaning of ‘Justice’ as demonstrated by the Supreme Court Justices of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. According to online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, “Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, fairness, or equity.” In other words, Justice is the perception of rewards and penalties from social interactions. In correlation with the definition, it is seen as a vital tool in the governance structure that gingers people into cultivating the creative and productive skills in their collective endeavours.

Without much shilly-shallying in this piece, the die-hard politicians have turned ‘Justice’ original meaning to an entirely different thing to fulfil their evil desires. Within the context of Nigeria do or die politics, Justice is an initiated process by some corrupt and demonic politicians to thwart all forces that might come upon them by lobbying and buying their acquittal from prosecution from lower or apex court after committing all sorts of atrocities- a way of elevating Tom and Dick that will shield them from financial improprieties and gargantuan lootings after they left public office to higher court so that any case brought against them shall hold no water; THE POLITICS OF NO WEAPON FASHIONED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER. Cases: swearing in of new Chief Justice at the absence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic; Justice Ogebe Elevation to Supreme Court Judge after declaring the worst election in Nigeria’s chequered political history as a credible one.

For the past few months, Nigerians have known no peace; as the Westerners are busy creating new technology and innovation; cloud computing is a topic of symposium and IT companies are heavily competing developing new computer languages to meet customers’ requirements; Chinese have proven beyond reasonable doubt that everything is hackable and penetrable by posing great threat to Google. And Microsoft have murdered sleep since that hacking was perpetrated through Internet explorer 6 (IE6); Stem cell research and regenerative medicine champion advances in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Research; the hydrogen powered cars to reduce the burning effects of crude (A technology that will displace crude oil soon). All are being harnessed for the well-being of mankind. However, unfortunately, the Story with Nigeria is “ambulance democracy”; Life support machine democracy; President kidney in chipset; Recuperating President; all sorts of rubbish; a country where the true health status of the President could not be ascertained.

Despite all chicanery and flattery that have beleaguered the nation, the Supreme Court led by Justice Aloysius Katsina, having earned a disgusting reputation already, had the guts and impetus to give another verdict that is tantamount to hara-kiri and one which is capable of generating more heat and befuddling the entire citizenry. Dear Aloysius Katsina-Alu, your ruling that the appeal brought by Arthur Agwucha Nwankwo, presidential candidate of people’s mandate party is ‘meritorious’ is an aberration in discharge of your duties to the nation. In whatever guise or disguise, your ruling is unwarranted and highly condemnable. Recall that the same appeal was defenestrated by Justice James Ogebe on September 3, 2007. What kind of Permutation is this? Why do you take Nigerians for- Morons?

And I ask, putting in utter cognizance of the interest of the nation, why would such a contradictory verdict being given at a time of this political logjam? I ask why would an appeal that had been quashed by the lower court for “lacking substances” be brought forward again? And I am still asking, do we have different Supreme Courts with differing opinions as regards to national issues and politics?

Your elevation to the apex court does not in any way mean you can upturn and manoeuvre verdicts to suit the whims and caprices of the so called Cabal or Kitchen Cabinet; your being the chief law officer does not portray you to embark in nefarious activities that are capable of jeopardizing the corporate existence of Nigeria. The Chief Justice this is a time Nigerians need your support most because through the powers bestowed on you, you can compel the corrupt National Assembly to ask for a resignation letter from the president instead of issuing such a disastrous verdict; a verdict that can plunge us to political dungeon.

If I should introduce emotional intelligence in Nigerian politics, there are behaviours that are expected from a high-ranked judicial officer like you. You should set example for the younger generation. There are landmark verdicts that are expected of you to flaunt. The case in Italy whereby the apex court stripped Prime Minister Berlusconi, his immunity from prosecution in order to bring him to book is one worthy of emulation. It shows the principle of separation of powers and how the apex court has to patch correctly the Achilles’ heels of bad governance.

There are series of fabrications and speculations that you have been extensively lobbied to pave way for some cabals to come to power. I will refer you to how former Chinese Supreme Court Justice, Huang Songyou, was sentenced to life in imprisonment by the same apex court in which he served after being convicted of $570,000 in bribes from four lawyers in return to deliver favourable verdict. You might be caught by nemesis for any evil unleashed to fellow citizens must surely come back if not now certainly later.

Therefore, I urge you, in the interest of peace, to let sleeping dog lie and not to allow your office to be dragged consciously or subconsciously by some camarillas and vampires so called Yaradua’s Kitchen Cabinet in the on-going ostentatious power shows.

I equally plead with the Justices of the Supreme Court to push further to dismantle the Maurice Iwu’s empire so that credible and rig-free election could be conducted. Having spent staggering amount to conduct the worst election in the annals of Nigerian politics, it would not augur well to meaningful citizens to cancel Yaradua and Jonathan Presidency considering the mere fact that reform has not been effected in the corrupt electoral empire, INEC.

As we are time conscious, the Yaradua and Jonathan Presidency will be a thing of the past soon, there is no ostensible reason to cancel the election as it would do us no good. It would be a welcome development to give Jonathan the time to reform the rubbished empire and put all the machineries in place for the next election. 

Martin Francis

Member IEEE