The entire people of Kurmi in Kurmi Local Govt Area of Taraba State have expressed shock and utter dismay over the clearance of Justice Adamu Paul Galumje of the Appeal Court, Sokoto Division as one of the two new Justices promoted to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

In a petition made available to our correspondent, the community was shocked that despite their protests and petitions to the Senate President, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters, National Judicial Council, NJC, Department of State Security, DSS and other agencies of government, Galinje was cleared as the Supreme Court Justice nominee.

The spokesperson of the two ruling houses in the community, Ibrahim Ishaya Etsu and John Tobi Yarafa said they were utterly surprised that an individual with questionable character and who lack integrity has been cleared to administer justice at the
highest level.
“What’s the hope for the common man with an individual who believes only in justice for the highest bidder? The effort by the present administration to sanitise the judiciary will amount to exercise in futility with the likes of Justice Paul Adamu Galumje still on the bench,” Ishaya Etsu said.
The complaints of the Kurmi Community are coming amidst the raging graft allegation against the top echelon of the Nigerian Judiciary.

In a petition dated 17 October, 2016 to the Director-General, DSS by the Ishaya Etsu/Tobi Yarafa Chieftaincy Family, Galumje was accused of abusing his office and allegedly offered bribe to the former acting governor of the state and a sitting senator, Alhaji Sani Danladi to issue recognition certificate to someone not entitled to be king of the community.
“…Since May 2016, we wrote a petition to the National Judicial Council complaining about Justice Adamu Paul Galumje using his position as a judge of Appeal Court, Sokoto Division to pervert justice by manipulating the court process.
“He also manipulated judgement to his favour in a matter we filed against him in matter where he manipulated his way to be the chairman of the Kingmakers where in a fact he is not a member of the Royal family in Kurmi Chiefdom…” stated the petition signed by Messrs Ibrahahim Ishaya Etsu and John Tobi Yarafa.
The petitioners also alleged that Justice Galumje induced the former acting governor with the sum of N50 million to get his approval of his choice in the chieftaincy tussle.
The Judge has also been accused of writing series of letters on his letterhead to the former Acting Governor Abubakar Sani now a senator on this same matter.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on 6 October nominated Justice Galumje and one other judge as Justices of the Supreme Court. The president has asked the Senate to consider and confirm their nomination.

Immediately, the community submitted their petitions against Justice Galumje to the Senate Committee on Judiciary chaired by Senator David Umaru.

“We were surprised to read in some newspapers that the committee said they didn’t receive any petition against Justice Galumje,” said Ishaya Etsu.

“Even the Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf, representing our district, Taraba Central, reinforced our petition to the Senate Committee and called their attention to it but the committee headed by Senator Umaru was hell-bent on clearing the judge.”
According to them, “it will be an aberration to have such personality on the scared seat of the apex court based on Justice Galumje’s antecedents in perverting the course of justice, he is not a proper person for such position.”
The community spokesmen also alleged that the National Judicial Council was compromised by the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who also is from Taraba State.

They said the former CJN cannot claim not to be aware of series of controversies around the person of Justice Galumje.
The community alleged that the stupendously rich Justice Galumje has been oppressing the whole community using his influence in the judiciary at all level. Before now, they alleged that Justice Galumje had boasted openly that he knows his way around the NJC and can sort out the Senate committee members and get cleared.
They however expressed disappointment in the Senate Committee on Judiciary who treated their petitions with levity by not bothering to invite them to shed more light on the allegations against Justice Galumje before clearing him to be promoted to the Apex court in the country.
For some time now, the once peaceful Kurmi community has known no peace following the imposition of someone not qualify for the throne as the king by the kingmakers in cohort of Justice Galumje. And they have vow not to allow the injustice perpetrated by the Judge to stay.

With every likehood that Justice Galumje and the other justice cleared last week by the Senate would be sworn in next week, the community has also written an open letter to the President.