Justice is on crutches in Nigeria, severely ethically disabled by rogue judges. The long-held suspicion of grand decay was laid bare again when the Department of State Services arrested a total of seven judges in several parts of the country in an operation last weekend. Two of those arrested are Supreme Court justices. During the operations, the DSS claimed that its agents recovered a total of N363 million from the houses of three of the judges. Though the depth of the corruption is so shocking, fighting it must be within the laws of the country.

The DSS raided the homes of the judges and arrested Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro (both of the Supreme Court); Mohammed Tsamiya (Court of Appeal); Adeniyi Ademola and Muazu Pindiga (both of Federal High Court); Innocent Umezulike (Chief Judge, Enugu State); and Kabir Auta (Kano State High Court). But the raid that generated ruckus happened in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when the governor, Nyesom Wike, mobilised against the DSS agents arresting an FHC judge. The National Security Agencies Act, Section 3, among others, charges the State Security Service with the responsibility for preventing and detecting crime against the internal security of Nigeria; and such other responsibilities “affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary.”

Coincidentally, the National Judicial Council, headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, had, on September 29, showed how cheaply some judges have sold their courtrooms in return for favourable rulings. The NJC had recommended the trio of Tsamiya, Auta and Umezulike to the President and their respective governors for retirement over allegations that included demanding bribe to pervert the course of justice. These breaches are ominous as they clearly bring into disrepute the entire Nigerian magistracy and threaten the very fabric of the society.
Tsamiya allegedly brought the judiciary to disrepute by relating with a litigant in a 2015 election dispute before the Court of Appeal panel, which sat in Owerri, Imo State. The NJC said, “During deliberations, Council found as follows: that there was evidence that the petitioner met with … Tsamiya thrice, in his residence in Sokoto, Gwarinpa, Abuja and Owerri, where, on each occasion, he demanded from him the sum of N200 million to influence the Court of Appeal Panel in Owerri or risk losing the case.”

The case against Umezulike is equally revolting. The highest judicial officer in Enugu, he failed to deliver judgement in Suit No E/13/2008: Ajogwu v Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, 126 days after final addresses were adopted in October 2014. This is contrary to the 90 days time-limit set by law. The NJC also accused Umezulike of other offences, including accepting a N10 million donation during his book launch from businessman, Arthur Eze, who had an interest in two cases before his court. It is unethical to unduly delay judgement. Justice delayed erodes the integrity of the judiciary, and the aphorism that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man is thus lost through dishonourable judges.

However, this is not the first time that such perversity is occurring. In March, the NJC descended on Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Lagos High Court, barring her from elevation to the Court of Appeal. Her offence: she allegedly adjourned a 2011 pre-election matter before her several times until the termination of the lifespan of the Ogun State House of Assembly in 2015. That meant the petitioner never got justice in the case.

Auta was accused of collecting N197 million from a litigant. Part of the filthy lucre was purported to have been used to help in providing accommodation for a former CJN, who had just been appointed at the time. Auta, who was recommended for prosecution, even agreed to refund N95 million to the petitioner. Though this behaviour is unconscionable for a judicial officer, it is not, however, surprising. Already, the NJC has sanctioned about 13 judges for misconduct this year. Those affected include Oluyinka Gbajabiamila (Lagos High Court), MJ Evuti and Tanko Usman (both Niger State High Court); Olamide Oloyede (Osun High Court); and BT Ebuta (Cross River High Court). Most of them were just retired and freed from punishment. This is a bad policy. It entrenches corruption on the Bench.

To stamp out graft from the judiciary and really kick-start the Buhari administration’s avowal to rid Nigeria of graft, the NJC must go the whole hog. As we have said in past editorials, this means prosecuting offenders. Before his death in 2012, a former Supreme Court Justice, Kayode Eso, had warned that there were then “billionaire judges.” He meant judges who made ill-gotten wealth from collecting bribes in election petitions before State Election Petitions Tribunals, which were common then because of the massive electoral heist of 2007. Corrupt judges should not escape the long arm of the law because justice is skating on thin ice if the judiciary is compromised, as these cases indicate.

It is argued that giant spectre of corruption is arguably more harmful than terrorism as it siphons an estimated $1 trillion from developing countries annually, wastes about $40 billion in direct aid and kills an estimated 3.6 million of the world’s poorest annually through inadequate health care and poor living conditions. A CBS TV report says at the extreme case, corruption causes people to lose faith in government, states to fail and violence to erupt in the form of organised crime and terrorism.

Judges must not be spared when they soil their robes. Arrested in October 2010, a United States District Court Judge, Jack Camp, was jailed 30 days, given a $1,000 fine and 400 hours of community service. He had pleaded guilty to a charge of giving a stripper his $825 government-issued laptop, among others. In 2011, 79 judicial officers were subjected to formal disciplinary action, while a further eight were given “guidance” or told to undergo training in Britain. Bulgaria’s Supreme Court of Cassation ruled in a corruption case against a judge in April that “the actions of every magistrate should be oriented towards raising the prestige of the judiciary and to protecting public values such as legality, fairness and equality. Therefore, committing crimes by such a person and especially crimes related to corruption, deeply resonate in public awareness and undermine public confidence in the entire judicial system.” We agree.

To make for a just legal regime, the justice system should be insulated from interference from desperate litigants, dishonest lawyers and the executive arm of government. A 2016 study by Washington DC-based NGO, Global Integrity, stated that the judiciary was impaired in 54 African countries because of interference by the executive. “This is the root cause of the judiciary’s inability to uphold the rule of law,” the report stated.

However, much as the Buhari administration’s anti-graft campaign is lofty, it must not be arbitrary. Did the DSS secure legitimate warrants before arresting these suspects? If not, its action so far is a throwback to dictatorship, which must not be allowed in the society. We re-state that the war on corruption must be fought openly and in accordance with the rule of law. Therefore, the NJC should stop coddling corrupt judicial officers by just sacking them. There might be corruption in the society, but it is too perilous for judges to traffic in it. The rights of those arrested so far must not be abridged in any form. They should be swiftly taken to court within the time limit allowed by law.