BY Oseghale Erahodu.<\/p>\n
An unsavoury dinner has just taken place in Aso Rock Villa. The
\nActing Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Mohammed, was caught on
\ncamera in a dinner session with President Muhammadu Buhari. The CJN
\nhad a full retinue of Supreme and Appeal Court justices, including
\nmembers of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal at the dinner.
\nThey were at the Villa to break the Ramadan fast with the president.
\nIf you ask me what my grouse with this high-powered dinner is, I will
\nquickly retort by telling you that there is something distasteful
\nabout the meal. It is sour in every sense of the word because of the
\nsecrecy that was brought to bear on it.<\/p>\n
Before their lordships were feted at this presidential dinner, some
\nother high-ranking government officials, including the leadership of
\nthe legislative arm of government, had had similar dinners with Mr.
\nPresident. But there is a difference. The dinner for the other
\nstakeholders was in the public domain. They were announced to the
\nPress. The public was very much in the know. But that was not the
\ncase with that of their lordships. Theirs was kept under wraps. It
\ntook some kind of whistle-blowing for some of us to know about this
\nmeal that has all the trappings of compromise.<\/p>\n
Why were their lordships ferreted into Aso Rock and treated to a
\nsumptuous evening without Nigerians being put in the know? That is
\nthe question that is begging for answer.
\nNow, let us go into the substance of the matter. I have a problem
\nwith this dinner because of the issue we have on our hands. The
\nNigerian judiciary is on trial because of the 2019 presidential
\nelections. The received impression in many homes in Nigeria is that
\nthe election in question was won by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the
\npresidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). President
\nBuhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is largely believed to
\nbe holding a stolen mandate. It is this disputed outcome of the
\nelection that Atiku and his party, the PDP, have gone to court to
\nchallenge.<\/p>\n
But an issue as testy as this cannot be resolved by a corrupt and
\ncompromised judiciary. The independence of the judiciary, the world
\nover, is almost taken for granted. The judiciary is the last hope of
\nthe common man. It is the bastion of democracy. It is expected that
\nthe judiciary will stand firm and courageous when democratic
\ninstitutions are being abused and trampled upon by corrupt
\npoliticians.<\/p>\n
Not too long ago, the judiciary in Kenya, an East African country,
\nmade the world proud when its Supreme Court upturned the result of
\nthe 2017 presidential election in the country owing to widespread
\nelectoral malpractices. Since that courageous step was taken in
\nKenya, the world has been holding the Kenyan judiciary aloft as the
\nbeacon of hope for democracy in Africa, nay in the world. The
\njudiciary in Nigeria may not have attained this enviable height, but
\nNigerians are hoping that our courts would, one day, help to right
\nmonumental wrongs. This is where we stand in Nigeria of today.<\/p>\n
It was on the strength of this delicate situation that Justice Zainab
\nBulkachuwa, the President of the Court of Appeal who also assumed the
\nchairmanship of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, was
\nasked to recuse herself from the trial because it is believed that
\nshe is an interested party in the case. I will not bother you here
\nwith the details of the assumed and presumed weaknesses of Justice
\nBulkachuwa in this matter. Suffice it to say that she has since
\nrecused herself even though she did so in a pretensious manner. Our
\nhope is that the other Justices on the panel and whoever that will
\ntake over from Bulkachuwa will do justice in this matter without fear
\nor favour.<\/p>\n
But we are constrained to say that members of the presidential
\nelection petition tribunal have started on a disappointing note.
\nTheir ruling that there was not enough reason for Justice Bulkachuwa
\nto recuse herself from the case is bizarre. How they decided to
\nignore judicial precedents and decided cases in this matter beats the
\nimagination. Is this their skewed judgment a foretaste of what to
\nexpect from them in the case before them? We hope it is not.
\nNigerians are still waiting for them to dispense justice in a manner
\nthat will not make our judiciary a laughing stock.<\/p>\n
You can now appreciate my agony when the matter which we are trying
\nto resolve at the Appeal Court level is being entrenched at the
\nSupreme Court. It must be noted that Justice Tanko Mohammed was
\nappointed in controversial circumstances. He was chosen to replace
\nJustice Walter Onnoghen, the deposed CJN who Buhari suspended in
\ncircumstances that were less than decent. Analysts have since linked
\nOnnoghen’s deposition to the presidential election case we have on
\nour hands. All the talk about non declaration of assets by the former
\nCJN was bunkum and a mere afterthought.<\/p>\n
Given this set-up, it will be most unconscionable for Justice Tanko
\nMohammed to do anything that will throw him open to suspicion. Since
\nhe is believed to be the president’s special nominee, he must tread
\nwith caution. He must be seen to be an impartial arbiter who will not
\nbe compromised by sticky meals.<\/p>\n
The fact that the presidential dinner under reference took place in
\nsecret is worrisome. The impression it conveys is that the concealed
\nmeal may be one of the sessions that will be put in place to
\ncompromise the justices, particularly the CJN in the ongoing
\npresidential election petition trials. The development is most
\nreprehensible, to say the least. It sends uncomfortable signals to
\nthe watching world.<\/p>\n
Justice Mohammed must retrace his steps. He must also watch his back.
\nHe must bear in mind that it will be imperative that he recuses
\nhimself from the case if he cannot maintain the neutrality expected
\nof him. Nigeria must overcome a compromised and corrupt judiciary
\nwhich cannot save the country from itself. The ongoing presidential
\nelection petition will be a case to end all cases. Our lordships must
\nwatch what they do because the world is watching.<\/p>\n
That is why I shudder at the fact that their lordships did not see
\nanything wrong with the secrecy that attended their outing.
\nConsidering the fact that other dinners that held before theirs were
\npublicized, their lordships should have spared a moment to ask why
\ntheirs was made a top secret.<\/p>\n
Circumspection is paramount here because of the case before them.
\nThey must realise that they are being looked up to resolve many of
\nthe thorny issues that the 2019 presidential election has thrown up.
\nA cavalier disposition such as the one Tanko Mohammed and his
\nentourage displayed in the instant case will not serve anyone’s
\npurpose in this matter. They should come off it and stay guided.<\/p>\n
OSEGHALE, A freelance journalist writes from Benin City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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