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After the gubernatorial election in Kogi State in the year, 2015. The Supreme Court were expected to restore hope and right, the wrongs done to the electorates and the undeniable candidate, Hon James Abiodun Faleke. So far, so bad! The dog had eaten the bone tied to its neck in many places; the Tribunals, Appeal and Supreme Courts had not painted a good image of the Judiciary with their rulings in most places. Most of the proceedings of these Tribunals were aired live in the media. It was an open show of lack of transparency and integrity by the Tribunals in most cases. The grounds and technicalities cited and applied by the Tribunals in their rulings were flawed with irregularities and inconsistent utterances.
Many became reserved with their applause for the Judiciary in recent times after some of the rulings of these Tribunals. The ‘last hope’ for justice was compromised in most cases. The recent revelation that many judicial officers received ‘Ghana must go’ bags was not a surprise to many. The ‘last hope of the common man’ had been bought over. I was moved to evaluate and analyse the term ‘the common man’. The common man over here means a moneybag. It is only a moneybag that can buy Justice at this point. Many who lost out in the ‘Selection’ that they called election could not head to the courts or Tribunals because justice is not cheap over there; they do not have the funds to throw around.
Judiciary: really the last hope? I do not think it is the hope of the poor, and down trodden. The common man over here is certainly not a poor man, but a moneybag. If it is the hope of the poor, why is there many caught hawking, or for minor offences languishing in our various prisons, and the bigwigs who stole State funds are as free as air? Fela Anikulapo Kuti saw this pendulous movement of the judicial scale, and said that Authority stealing is not as big as armed robbery because an armed robber receives bigger punishment for stealing fewer funds. The Judicial Council must rise to the occasion and save the Judiciary and the polity all these embarrassment caused by the greedy lot who are the cause of the rot.
At this juncture, I would suggest a review of the judicial process in Nigeria. If we continue like this, the generation coming to take over would believe that the Judiciary can be pocketed or bought over with stolen State funds against the polity. I do believe that some sections of our Constitution need to be amended. The judicial officers who had been part of the questionable rulings at the Tribunals should be sanctioned to serve as deterrent to others. The time to restore the confidence of the people to the Judiciary is now. We are expecting sound judgments from these learned sound minds; they should not disappoint us or themselves with all these biased rulings. The Judiciary should be for every citizen of this great nation, and not an exclusive reserve of the moneybags. It should be accessible to the poor, and downtrodden. It should be fair and reasonable. The Executive, and Legislative arms of government also have hope in the Judiciary for proper interpretation of laws and so should not be politicized in the appointment of officers. Our last hope should not become our lost hope! God bless Nigeria!
– Hon Alfa Tijani writes from Igalamela/ Odolu, Kogi State.
Email: Hon.alfatijani@gmail.com
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