By Kunle Edun
The average Nigerian politician does not want to play by the rules, to get what he wants. Politics is not a dangerous game but only made dangerous because of the unpatriotic actions of our politicians and their collaborators. The law expects that some human beings may want to be deviants, the very reason for the existence of laws is to instil sanity and orderliness into a chaotic situation.
The arm of government that is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that our laws are obeyed and respected by all and sundry, is the judiciary. Section 6 of the Constitution is devoted to the Judiciary alone just to emphasize the importance of the role of ensuring that all actions of the various governments and their officials are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and valid laws. The judiciary is always the last resort when parties or disputants might have exhausted all other non-legal mechanisms. However, has the judiciary fared well in carrying out its constitutional mandate of being the conscience of the nation and last hope of the common man?
The Honorable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honorable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun during her screening by the Senate admonished Judges not to be competing for cases and issuing out conflicting Court orders and that she will ensure that this malaise stops. My Lord’s assurance is quite welcoming. Sadly, not long after the CJN’s admonition Nigerians started seeing another season of conflicting Court orders from the Federal High Court and the State High Courts in Kano and Rivers State. Once a party gets an order from a State High Court and before daybreak, another order will be issued by the Federal High Court on similar subject matters.
It is now bad to the extent that subject matters that are clearly excluded from the jurisdiction of Federal High Courts as clearly spelt in section 251 of the Constitution are now being heard by the Federal High Court by adding Federal agencies to the Suits. The jurisdiction of both the State High Courts and the Federal High Courts are no longer expounded but now expanded at will by the various courts. Precedents do not seem to matter any more.
No lawyer is certain of the position of the law on any issue at any time because of the apprehension (justified apprehension) that another Court may take a contrary position to the established precedents. Things seem to be falling apart in the judiciary and in no time, of we continue like this, Nigerians may no longer have need for the judiciary, ditto the legal profession. The last hope of the common man now seems to be the fading hope for justice and the common man.
My lord, the Honorable CJN would need to urgently step in to halt this descent if the judiciary wants to continue to be relevant. Judges that happily grab jurisdiction that is not theirs should be cautioned. Forum shopping by a party rushing to Abuja to file actions at the Federal High Court when the cause of action took place in the State Capital, should be discouraged by the issuance of practice direction by the CJ of the Federal High Court. In Rivers State, I am yet to be convinced why parties cannot file their actions at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt instead of overburdening the Abuja Division of the Court. Save for security reasons, I do not know how to define such action but to call it forum shopping.
Kano State was in the news with conflicting Court orders regarding the emirship tussle. It is now season 2 with another apparently conflicting Court order issued by the Federal High Court, Kano and the Kano State High Court, with each granting orders countering each other’s orders and Judgment. Same subject matter but different courts. I must admit that we lawyers have our own fair share of this blame.
The Rules of Professional Conduct require every lawyer to owe a primary duty to the Court and ensure that the institution of the Court is not abused but used to achieve justice. When lawyers deliberately file cases to scuttle an agency or an arm of government from carrying out its constitutional and statutory responsibility, that may be considered as not helping the due administration of law and therefore, a professional misconduct. The Supreme Court has already decided that local Government funds belong to the LGs exclusively and that it is only demoratically elected local Government councils that can administer such funds. Presently, there are several cases in Courts seeking to stop some States’ Electoral Commissions from conducting local Government elections.
Another trend that is becoming concerning and now the norm, is the practice of the Executive arm of government buying vehicles and building Houses for Judicial officers and then announce it to the entire world. The State Governors are mostly guilty of this, as they invite the world media to showcase the embarrassment they are causing to the judiciary. Ironically, whenever Governors gift State legislators, traditional rulers and elder statemen vehicles and Houses, no one hears about it. The 4th Alteration to the Constitution has guaranteed financial autonomy for the judiciary. Such funds should be appropriated to the Federal and States’ Judicial Service Commissions which are Executive bodies to manage. Judicial officers should not attend such media functions because there are many cases in courts where the same gifting States are parties. A few days ago, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike announced that he revoked Julius Berger’s title to a parcel of land in Abuja and now using the same land to construct 40 houses that will be gifted to Judicial officers. My noble Lord, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Court of Appeal President and other Judicial officers were in attendance at the commissioning ceremony. Wike is a Life Bencher and I want to believe that he knows that his actions may be challenged in Court that may be presided over by the same Judges who will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the houses when completed. Which Court will hear such matters?
The National Judicial Council has a huge task to bring back the much-needed confidence in the judiciary. Petitions against Judicial officers should be treated early. Judges must be told to step in line or be shoved out so that the many good ones on the bench will not be tainted by the few that decide to treat with levity the Judicial Code of Ethics. Judicial officers should by all means avoid contact with politicians and do not create impressions that may not augur well for the due administration of justice. Politicians are crafty and such craftiness should not be close to the symbol of Justice.
Kunle Edun, SAN
