By Jibrin S. Okutepa, SAN
The audacity of illegality going on in Benue State must be resisted and not tolerated by any legal practitioner. How can the Benue State House of Assembly purport to remove the chief judge of Benue State in the manner it claimed it did? Are there no lawyers in that house? Did the House seek legal advice? Who advised the house that it had the power to remove the CJ in the manner it did?
Why did the government of Benue State allow thugs to invade the judiciary and hold judges hostage yesterday? That is totally unconstitutional, sacrilegious, and uncivilised. It is democratic barbarism, and no civilised society tolerates such acts of self-help. I condemned it wholeheartedly. Whatever the offence of the Hon CJ of Benue State may be, he can not be treated shabbly without due process. Let those engineering the House of Assembly be told that Nigeria is not a state ruled by despots.
We profess to be governed by the rule of law. In the rule of law, shortcuts in circumvention of legality are not allowed. No CJ can be removed without the input of NJC. Let Benue State House of Assembly be told clearly. There is no substitute for due process in the removal of the Hon, the CJ of Benue, or any CJ, for that matter. No state House of Assembly is a law unto itself.
That is why the Nigerian state preferred separation of power. The process of removing CJ or any judicial officer have been settled by the Supreme Court. The House of Assembly of Benue State is bound to enforce and follow the decision of the Supreme Court in Habib Elelu vs Attorney-General of the Federation. There can be no shortcuts to those procedures. The Benue State House of Assembly must follow due processes.
Thugs and thuggery to intimidate and harass judges and judicial officers are not parts of the process. The Assembly must take their grievances to NJC. NJC will decide one way or the other. Even if not conceding the offence or offences of Ikpambese CJ are manifestly obvious, it is no substitute for due process, and hearing him before a duly constituted NJC panel that has a constitutional responsibility to hear the allegations against him. Until that is done, let no one delude himself. Ikpambese CJ remains the CJ, and no judge can take his position. That is the law. And we must respect that law.
The time has also come for the legal profession and the judiciary to restore the nobility of the legal profession. The disregard and disrespect shown to judicial institutions is a function of how the legal profession has set some principles that installed some persons who have no respect for due process.
The time has come for the judiciary not only to bark but must bite with sound jurisprudence that instils political discipline in the otherwise insane political rascality in the journey to political offices in Nigeria. For me, no one can dare a snake by playing with the mount. I say no more. Let those who have ears hear what I have been saying. We must respect ourselves to earn the respect of others.
