NBA Goofed On Arrest of Judges
Written by
Paul I. Adujie Esq.
I watched
with utter dismay, as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
surrounded by other prominent lawyers badmouthed the actions of the DSS which
culminated in the arrest of some judges on Saturday, October 8, 2016
As the world
has become aware, some judges in Nigeria were arrested on the allegation of
fraud, and the arrests were conducted in a nationwide raid or sting,
orchestrated by the DSS, armed with adequate prosecutable information with equally
adequate and sufficient Probable Cause!
A majority
of Nigerians are elated and ecstatic to learn of these arrests, particularly
so, given the sacred position, the exalted and hallowed position judges hold in
upholding Justice, Due Process and The Rule of Law
Nigeria has
for far too long witnessed the profound absence of justice, and the equally
profound absence of the Due Process and the Rule of Law, which has led to
impunity and lawlessness at all levels.
Nigeria has
witnessed and continues to witness regression in all facets of life, as no one
plays by the rules or follows laid down processes and pay complete obeisance to
the rule of law.
I have often
said privately and publicly, that efforts to fight corruption by current
federal government or any future government must begin with the judiciary and
the police and or other law enforcement agencies.
When judges
and policing agencies cannot be bribed, a majority of those Nigerians who have
made impunity and lawlessness their vocation and profession; would soon fall in
line.
It is the
case that in Nigeria, there are great and good laws and rules regarding human
conditions. However, most laws are not enforced, implemented or obeyed. Laws
and rules in Nigeria are observed in their breaches!
The simplest
of processes in Nigeria have become warped, twisted and perverted, and as a
consequence, simple processes are made to become unnecessarily complex and
complicated. Simple actions are made to take too long and extremely expensive,
stressful and or frustratingly cumbersome!
The judges arrested
on Saturday October 8, 2016 are said to have made useful statements to law
enforcement agencies and the policing authorities. Documents were said to have
been recovered from the allegedly erring judges who were arrested.
It is the
case that large sums of monies were said to have been recovered from each of
the arrested judges - hundreds of millions of Naira, US Dollars, British pounds
and Euros were recovered from the arrested judges. Let the arrested judges
defend themselves. Let them reconcile their salaries with their sudden wealth
or stash of cash or loads of loots and avarice! And yes, I do believe in and subscribe
the Presumption of Innocence!
Law
enforcement agencies will soon reveal the contents of statements made by these
culprit judges. Most probably, these said judges have filed statements of their
assets prior to their arrest, and secondly, the said judges would explain why
they have these extraordinarily large amounts in their homes as opposed to
lodgements with their various banks.
It does
appear that these arrested judges, were scared to deposit the monies which they
received from their sale of matches, toothpicks and sachets of water, as the
Bank Verification Number rule or regime, has made it a little more difficult to
bank almost anonymously and through proxies as a certain lady was recently
accused of banking by proxies, while retaining all the benefits and ATM cards,
even though the accounts in question bore the names and images of other
persons!
It is quite
astonishing, astounding and even outlandish, that the NBA executive would
defend the obviously indefensible judges! The NBA President was heard and seen
condemning the arrests of these judges, and referring to the process as Gestapo
style, despite the fact that the DSS operations was preceded by petitions of
allegations of these judges accepting bribes and perverting justice!
The DSS have
Probable Cause(s) to conduct the arrests, and the DSS may have reasons to believe
that the targeted judges would flee or hide or destroy the evidences of their
alleged crimes.
The NBA
President seems to misunderstand or he has wilfully misinterpreted Due Process
and Rule of Law with his suggestion that the arrest of the judges should not
have taken place because (a) DSS is not the Nigeria Police and (b) DSS or even
the police may not arrest the judges at all, particularly at the particular
hours of the morning!
It is my
opinion that the DSS acted within the scope of their statutory assignment and
that the DSS acted properly in conducting the arrest at the particular hours,
to prevent flight, or escape by the arrested judges and as well as the DSS
desire to ensure that proceeds of crimes are not destroyed or taken out of
jurisdiction, including other tactical and strategic reasons which may have
informed and prompted the DSS to act in the manner and the time their
operatives acted.
I strongly
believe that the DSS have adequate and sufficient information, and now,
evidence to prosecute, hence these audacious arrests and bribe loot recoveries
as have been announced by the DSS. The DSS certainly know more than what the
public currently knows, they may have had exigent circumstances as to
likelihood of flight or disappearance of the judges arrested, and the targeted
corruption proceeds!
It is really
disappointing to regularly and too often see Nigerian lawyers, and worse the
NBA executives become tools with which the corrupt political class shield
themselves…. Judges and members of the political class openly, conspicuously,
ostentatiously and brazenly corrupt and break any and every law with impunity,
while setting slush funds aside to hire 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria to
defend the indefensible!
The Nigerian
nation and her citizens are not living to their full potentials as a result of
corruption of every process. Elections are predictably rigged, judges are
predictably for the highest bidders, budgets are routinely passed but monies so
appropriated are predictably stolen or plundered, and then law enforcement
agencies engage in some sort of “Catch-and Release” and the cycle perpetrates
and perpetuates!
Budgets for
roads, bridges and public infrastructures never get spent on roads and bridges
or other public infrastructures hence they are decayed and decrepit nationwide.
There are front-loading and unwarranted upward appraisals of contract prices.
Monies budgeted for equipment and medicines never get to the target hospitals.
Hence, Nigerian hospitals are bereft of modern state of the art medical
diagnostic and treatment tools and or medicines. Medical doctors are frequently
on strike nationally, and this is why your cousin will not find a doctor or
medicine in his neighbourhood hospital tomorrow.
The
generator in your home is running right now, as there is no municipal
electricity, because the budget for electricity generation and transmission has
evaporated through corruption, and nationally, Nigerians can count more
generators than citizens!
Stupidity
should have consequences and law breaking should receive sanction(s) but,
currently in Nigeria, there is a dearth or even the complete absence of
integrity. A corrupt judge is worse than an armed robber because a corrupt
judge perverts justice, law and processes. Such judges, where there are
allegations and probable cause, should be arrested and punished. Corrupt judge
are odious and inimical to the very essence of justice, corrupt judges should
be exposed and subject to public opprobrium.
When and if
a law enforcement agency discovers that a crime has been committed, is being
committed or likely to be committed, it’s incumbent on upon such a law enforcer
to arrest the offender without dithering. Prompt and legal arrest is an
imperative! We do not ask armed robbers in Nigeria for permission to arrest
them. So, why should we ask judges for permission to arrest them, when and if
there is a probable cause, predicate and foundation for their arrest?
Corrupt
judges thwart the very fundamental social order, the rule of law and due
process to which they are supposed to pay complete obeisance. As we all must
realize, the absence of law and order permits lawlessness!
