Has the Nigerian judiciary fared well since independence from Britain especially during the military era?

Indeed ours has been a rich judicature, inundated with distinguished jurists, whose splendiferous exploits in the field of jurisprudence are as solid and sound as those of their contemporaries elsewhere; Jurists, whose judgments can pass the fire of the harshest scrutiny and critique even in civil law jurisdictions, and, above all, Jurists, whose knowledge of the law can compare favourably with any other anywhere in the world. We have had Taslim Elias and Bola Ajibola at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. We have had Karibi-Whyte in the United Nations Tribunal for Yugoslavia, Justice Akinola Aguda has served in southern Africa, I believe we still have Justice Ahmad Belgore churning out quality decisions on a weekly basis in the Gambia. The front runner in this regard though, had been Sir Justice Udo Udoma, who served meritoriously as Governor- General and Chief Justice of Uganda and was arguably one of the greatest Nigerian jurists ever; his judgments are still being discussed in about every jurisdiction globally; his opinion has helped redefine the law in about every single sphere and is often copiously cited and relied upon by courts in about every jurisdiction. During his sojourn in Uganda, he virtually rewrote the law in about every sphere. Indeed the exploits of this legal icon in the realms of judicial interpretation of statutory enactments and indeed other instruments cannot but be likened to those of the fabled American constitutional law legend, the great Justice Marshall.

 How has the Nigerian judiciary fared since our return to democracy in 1999?

Our judges have shown that democracy is worth it after all.  The kind of courage currently being exhibited in the law courts will help to strengthen our democratic values. I must say that am truly impressed. 

 Critics would think you are being unduly protective of the judiciary on account of facts on the ground to the effect that you have only looked at the positive side. What would be your answer to that sort of insinuation?

They may be right…. am not a pessimist…. Throughout the legal history of this country, several Justices of the apex court have provided fuel for a silent revolution. Among these have been their lordships J.I.C. Taylor, Andrew Otutu Obaseki, Adolphus Godwin Karibi-Whyte, Augustine Nnamani, Niki Tobi, Chukwudifu Oputa, Kayode Eso, Salihu Alfa Belgore, Dahiru Musdapher, Muhammadu Lawal Uwais, Ayo Irikefe, Atanda Fatayi Williams, Michael Ekundayo Ogundare, Anthony Ikechukwu Iguh, Umaru Atu Kalgo and Katsina-Alu- all have performed creditably… not perfectly, but they have my pass mark. A few of our judges, have sadly allowed themselves to be used by politicians and soldiers and their lot have been rather pathetic. 

So you have not scored the judiciary 100 percent, something to do about some of the controversial decisions of the military era and the ‘Jankara practice’ in the magistrate and Area courts for instance…?

Nothing that is truly Nigerian would escape some blur in the collective guilt we all share for some of the shameful acts of the military era. There were a few alleged cases of judicial rascality; of judgements being delivered at 12 midnight; of ex-parte orders issued from the sitting rooms of Judges; of interim injunctions slammed on parties indiscriminately… all reported in the media. Indeed one of the Magazines- I would prefer not to mention the name of the magazine- in its August 30, 1999 issue carried the most shameful headline yet in living memory about judicial officers in Nigeria. It was captioned ‘Crooks on the Bench’ and went ahead to name about 50 judicial officers indicted by the Justice Kayode Eso Panel which was set up by late Head of State, General Sanni Abacha to investigate the alleged corruption in the judiciary. But I am not aware that that report has been released and in Nigeria, you are a wise man if you ignore some of the sensational headlines we have had in the past.

You have not said anything about the magistrate courts?

Speaking of the Magistrate Courts and ‘Jankara practice’, if I may borrow that phrase from you, these basically are courts of first instance and manned by Magistrates some of whom are living up to expectations. During my time in private practice here in Abuja,I was lucky to appear before a few very sound Magistrates such as: Muhammed Kolo, Grace Inyang, Lamido, Ajoke etc –these ones shone like a zillion stars. As for the Area Courts, it was a wise decision to remove criminal jurisdiction from those courts. It was simply horrible. I have had to wait for an Upper Area Court Judge here in Abuja until about 1.30pm and then when he arrived, he scrambled out of his car and asked us to wait for him to finish his prayers. We all agreed with the usual refrain ‘as your worship pleases’ and after about another hour he emerged from his chambers and to the eternal shame and horror of the judicial oath that binds him openly declared ‘Where is the thief… ina wanna barawo’ (Hausa for “where is the thief”) referring obviously to my client, an 18 year old student of the Abuja Polytechnic- whose only offence was that he merely had an altercation with the elder sister but the sister had a boyfriend who happened to be a police sergeant, who then rushed to the police and had him arraigned for alleged theft of- wait for this- the mobile phone of the police sergeant in the girl’s room where the boy sometime sleeps. The implication of the above is better imagined when you consider the fact that my client was yet to be arraigned and the first information report not even read over to him, but the Judge in his wisdom had already tried and convicted him. Please spare me the thoughts of my experiences … some things are better left unsaid.  

Do you harbour any real fears about the current political experience in the country and what advise do you have for the politicians? Are you apprehensive that we might bungle it again and lose everything to a ban of coupist?

I have promised my mother that I will never go into politics and I have shut out those thought from my mind. Those who clamour for strife and those who continuously beat the drums of war are the very ones who do not have any experience in that regard. I come from a community who lost a whole generation of able-bodied men and boys during the civil war. I was lucky that I was not born 6 or 10 years before the war. All my cousins and relations who were born from 1950- 60 ended up as conscripts into the Biafran Army. My great uncle late Gen Philip Effiong (may the good Lord has mercy on his soul) fought on the Biafran side and recently died with nothing to show for it. Apparently he had not been forgiven for fighting on the side of Biafra.  But he only went to fight on the Biafran side because he was haunted out of his Unit in the Northern Region. So he escaped on foot, disguised as a peasant and practically swam cross the river Niger at Lokoja into the Eastern Region. Those who tarried an extra hour paid with their lives. My maternal village was surrounded by Nigerian troops and razed to the ground with the elderly, women and children in the whole community wiped out. I am told that am only alive today because my mother was so malnourished and weak such that my birth was delayed and I stayed an extra month in my mothers’ womb until hostilities ended. If I was born a week earlier during the siege of my maternal home, you probably would not be reading this piece. So people in my community cannot be contemplating another war considering the horrors of the past. But the man in Sokoto, Ilorin, Epe, Maiduguri, Kano, Jos, Yola and elsewhere were too far way from the fronts to even hear the thunderous explosions or perceive the foul smelling corpses that begged for burial. So they can clamour for war because these were the ones- except the soldiers who fought in the fonts- who merely read about the civil war in the papers. In my community, the civil war is not just another story in the history books it is the stark reality. Until a few years ago, as farmlands are being cleared during each planting season, abandoned grenades and other explosives would go off killing and maiming peasant farmers; bullet riddled palm trees and grotesquely maimed survivors are a constant reminder that the civil war was real. The generation of men born during the 1940s – 1950, who were mere teens during the war years, were completely wiped out during the war.  You will hardly find people in their late forties and early fifties in my community