By Emeka Nwadioke<\/p>\n
Judicial corruption is a grievous menace to any society. It ought to be
\nclassified as a \u2018crime against humanity.\u2019 For lawyers who have been at the
\nreceiving end of judicial corruption, it is not difficult to see why they
\nmay readily support the midnight raids by Department of State Security
\n(DSS) operatives on the residences of some judicial officers penultimate
\nweek. It is doubly frustrating when, convinced that one has a good case and
\nhaving applied oneself to elucidate the fine points of the case, one finds
\nthat such efforts are sacrificed on the altar of nocturnal meetings where
\njustice is bargained away like salt and pepper.<\/p>\n
It was the inimitable Justice Chukwudifu Oputa (now deceased) who painted a
\ngraphic picture of the hazards posed by a corrupt judge thus: \u201c…. No one
\nshould go to the Bench to amass wealth, for money corrupts and pollutes not
\nonly the channels of justice but also the very stream itself. It is a
\ncalamity to have a corrupt Judge. The passing away of a great Advocate does
\nnot pose such public danger as the appearance of a corrupt Judge on the
\nBench, for in the latter instance, the public interest is bound to suffer
\nand elegant justice is mocked, debased, depreciated and auctioned. When
\njustice is bought and sold, there is no more hope for society. What our
\nsociety needs is an honest, trusted and trustworthy judiciary.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is therefore agreed that, of all species of corruption, judicial
\ncorruption ranks very high on the ladder of ignominy. If so, why then the
\nhue and cry over the arrest of the affected judicial officers, including
\ntwo justices of the Supreme Court?<\/p>\n
A major reason is that stated by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon.
\nJustice Dahiru Musdapher when he said: \u201cHowever, as I further pointed out,
\nit is of equal importance that accusations of impropriety against judicial
\nofficers should not be made lightly. It must be appreciated that the
\nintegrity of the Judge and the judiciary is a sacred public trust that must
\nbe protected and upheld by all. Today, mere suspicions of impropriety
\nemanating from unconfirmed rumours, together with foul innuendoes find
\nready spaces in our media without proper concern for the far reaching
\ndamage being done to not only the Judge in question but the entire
\ninstitution of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also crucial is the fact that law and order thrives on certainty and
\npredictability. Our jurisprudence is founded on the need to reduce, and
\nultimately eliminate, arbitrariness in human affairs. The process is just
\nas important as the outcomes.<\/p>\n
Even more worrisome is that it is increasingly becoming difficult to keep
\ntrack of the \u2018anti-graft\u2019 agencies. Aside from the Independent Corrupt
\nPractices Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
\n(EFCC) and the long-suffering Nigeria Police Force, the DSS has now joined
\nthe fray as a graft-bursting agency.<\/p>\n
Section 2(3) of the National Security Agencies Act N74 LFN 2011 sets out
\nthe duties of the DSS, otherwise called the State Security Service (SSS) as
\nfollows: \u201cThe State Security Service shall be charged with responsibility
\nfor- (a) the prevention and detection within Nigeria of any crime against
\nthe internal security of Nigeria; (b) the protection and preservation of
\nall non-military classified matters concerning the internal security of
\nNigeria; and (c) such other responsibilities affecting internal security
\nwithin Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may
\nbe, may deem necessary.<\/p>\n
It has been stated that pursuant to Section 6 of the NSA Act, former Head
\nof State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar in 1999 promulgated the State
\nSecurity Service Instrument One of 1999. The Instrument enlarged the duties
\nof the agency to include the prevention, detection and investigation of
\neconomic crimes of national security dimension, among other things. Having
\npreceded the 1999 Constitution, the NSA Act has a saving provision in
\nSection 315 (5)(c) of the Constitution. This is deemed to have conferred a
\nconstitutional flavor on the NSA Act.<\/p>\n
In justifying the clampdown, the DSS claimed that it was \u201cin line with its
\n(DSS) core mandate,\u201d adding that the action was \u201cbased on allegations of
\ncorruption and other acts of professional misconduct by a few of the
\nsuspected Judges.\u201d The DSS also claimed that \u201cwe have been monitoring the
\nexpensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the Judges as well as
\ncomplaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently
\nand on the basis (of) amounts of money paid.\u201d It is apparent that some of
\nthese claims do not add up. It is also asserted that even with a combined
\nreading of the NSA Act and the Instrument One of 1999, it is difficult to
\nsee how judicial corruption is a \u201ccore mandate\u201d of the DSS.<\/p>\n
The DSS also referred to \u201ccomplaints from the concerned public,\u201d though it
\nfailed to name the complainants. Indeed, it was not until after the arrests
\nthat the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN)
\nreportedly sent some petitions by CESNAC to DSS. It is clear that the
\nraison d\u2019etre of the DSS\/SSS is the \u201cinternal security\u201d of Nigeria. As NBA
\nPresident, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) has observed, \u201cThe DSS must be
\nrestricted to its constitutional and statutory duties. Its core mandate is
\nguaranteeing internal national security. It is not its duty to conduct
\npolice investigations or arraign and prosecute cases of corruption. It is
\nnot its responsibility to conduct sting operations on judges for corruption
\nor professional misconduct in the middle of the night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even more worrisome is that the era of media trials is still alive and well
\nwithin our security agencies. Or how does one reconcile the wild assertion
\nby the DSS Director-General, Mr. Lawan Daura that certain judgements were
\n\u201cobtained fraudulently and on the basis amounts of money paid.\u201d And to
\nthink that the judicial officers are yet to be arraigned, and that Section
\n36(5) guarantees a presumption of innocence to all citizens until proven
\nguilty.<\/p>\n
Further, in light of the current debacle, there have been spirited efforts
\nto define \u201cinternal security\u201d in very elastic terms, merely for the purpose
\nof accommodating the apparent breach of mandate by the DSS\/SSS.<\/p>\n
There are clear disciplinary procedures set out by the Nigerian
\nConstitution to deal with judicial officers who abuse their office through
\ncorrupt enrichment and sundry misfeasance. It needs no emphasis that the
\nNSA Act cannot override the grundnorm, to wit the Constitution.<\/p>\n
Part I of the Third Schedule to the Constitution provides that the Federal
\nJudicial Service Commission shall (13)(b) \u201crecommend to the National
\nJudicial Council, the removal from office of the judicial officers
\nspecified in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Item 21 of the schedule also provides that \u201cThe National Judicial Council
\nshall have power to – (b) \u201crecommend to the President the removal from
\noffice of the judicial officers specified in sub-paragraph (a) of this
\nparagraph and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers; (c)
\nxxxxxxxx (d) recommend to the Governors the removal from the office of the
\njudicial officers in sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph, and to exercise
\ndisciplinary control over such officers. (e) xxxxxxxxx (f) advise the
\nPresident and Governors on any matter pertaining to the judiciary as may be
\nreferred to the Council by the President or the Governors; (g) xxxxxxxxx
\n(i) deal with all other matters relating to broad issues of policy and
\nadministration.\u201d Perhaps it bears repeating that all the judges arrested by
\nthe DSS are under the disciplinary radar of both the Federal Judicial
\nService Commission and the National Judicial Council (NJC).<\/p>\n
Also, Rule 3(F)(1) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers provides
\nthat \u201cA Judicial Officer and members of his family shall neither ask for
\nnor accept any gift, bequest, favour, or loan on account of anything done
\nor omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties.\u201d Article (iii)
\nof the Preamble to the Code unequivocally states that \u201cViolation of any of
\nthe rules contained in this Code shall constitute judicial misconduct or
\nmisbehaviour and may entail disciplinary action.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is contended that the allegations made by the DSS fall within the ambit
\nof \u201cjudicial misconduct or misbehavior\u201d for which the affected judicial
\nofficers should be proceeded against by the NJC, not the DSS, especially in
\nlight of Rule 3(F)(1) of the Code. It is only after they have been adjudged
\nguilty and sanctioned by the NJC that the appropriate agency may step in to
\nproceed against those found culpable of criminal breaches. Indeed, it will
\npresently become apparent why this procedure is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n
Assuming that the DSS proceeds, as promised, to arraign the affected
\njudicial officers before the courts, they are bound to be granted bail (the
\nDSS had granted them bail on self-recognisance) while the trials continue.
\nDuring this period, there is no plausible reason why the judicial officers,
\nhaving not been removed vide Section 292 (1)(b) of the Constitution, cannot
\ncontinue to sit as judges in our hallowed temples of justice, even in the
\nhighest court of the land! Indeed, a time may yet come when litigants may
\nbe told that the court will not sit because the judge is facing trial or
\nawaiting sentencing before another judge! How does this noxious scenario
\npromote a \u201crespected and respectable Judiciary\u201d as envisaged by the Code?
\nIt would not seem that the Constitution contemplated this absurdity.<\/p>\n
There is every reason to argue that the NJC should timeously dispose of
\npetitions brought against judicial officers. Tardiness is not an option.
\nSome have also argued for a reform of the NJC model to ensure its
\neffectiveness. But a usurpation of the role of the NJC is also out of sync
\nwith the public policy imperatives of the current debacle, moreso given the
\nantecedents of the DSS. Otherwise, as grievous as judicial corruption is,
\nit would seem that combating Boko Haram insurgents, terrorists, kidnappers
\nand pipeline vandals is more in sync with the core mandate of the DSS.<\/p>\n
In light of the foregoing, there is a growing perception that the DSS is
\nincreasingly being deployed to chastise perceived enemies of the
\ngovernment. The reported invasion of the Akwa-Ibom Government House by DSS
\noperatives and the cat-and-mouse game between DSS and Ekiti State
\nlegislators are still fresh in our memory. Instructively, the DSS has
\nstated that some of the current spate of arrests were linked to \u201cjudgment
\nobtained fraudulently,\u201d moreso with the arrest of Justice Muazu Pindiga,
\nerstwhile chairman of the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal.<\/p>\n
As one commentator has poignantly observed, \u201cOne thing is of note: It seems
\nanybody who gives judgment against Mr. President or his allies (agencies
\ninclusive) are corrupt and henceforth once the govt (sic) takes you to
\ncourt you must be convicted or the judge is corrupt.\u201d Justices Adeniyi
\nAdemola who are handling the case of former National Security Adviser Sambo
\nDasuki and Nnamdi Dimgba who had berated the DSS for disobeying his earlier
\nrulings are said to be victims of this brand of anti-graft war. Indeed, it
\nis reported that not even the observation by Justice Dimgba that his name
\nwas not on the Search Warrant could deter the DSS operatives. What is more,
\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari had lamented his unpleasant brushes with
\nNigeria\u2019s justice sector. Could the DSS have latched on the recommendation
\nby the NJC that Justice Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court be
\ndismissed and prosecuted to pounce on its perceived enemies? Hopefully, the
\ndays ahead will bring clarity to this macabre dance.<\/p>\n
* *Nwadioke is a Lagos based lawyer and Publicity Secretary of NBA Lagos
\nBranch. emekan88@gmail.com <emekan88@gmail.com>*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Emeka Nwadioke Judicial corruption is a grievous menace to any society. It ought to be classified as a \u2018crime against humanity.\u2019 For lawyers who have been at the receiving…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n