Chief Yemi Okulaja, SAN, in this interview, speaks on the ongoing national confab, corruption on the Bench and the acts of organising seminars for judges by bodies that have cases before the courts. Excerpts: By Abdulwah ab Abdulah Is it right for judges to attend workshop organised by corporate and government bodies, especially those that appear before the courts, because you did challenge a Federal High Court judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba recently on a workshop organised for judges by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON? We go to courts everyday and we see that the judges are openly exposed to external influences and temptations. Sadly, many of them do fall into these temptations. There is no point putting judges in a position where their decisions may be influenced. That is what we are saying. What AMCON and co are doing is unethical, and judges should know better. You, who will judge and decide cases of others, should not be the breaker of the law. Judges are not supposed to be visiting people. These people may have cases before their courts tomorrow. All I am saying is that it is wrong for AMCON, which is always a party before these same judges to organise workshop for these judges. Qualified lawyer Before you can become a judge, you must be at least 10 years old at the Bar. Aside from being a qualified lawyer, it is a fact that some of our judges have spent 20 to 30 years at the Bar. Now, you call them for a seminar and I strongly believe that it is a way of perverting justice. It is not done and it should never be done. Like I said, I’m happy that you people (media) observed it and you are taking it up. You can ask other lawyers and see what they feel about the matter. For instance, if I have a case against AMCON in your court, how will I get justice from the same judge that has attended a seminar organised by AMCON? But these seminars are put together to enrich the knowledge of these judges on issues of law. It is wrong. You see when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was not getting conviction as they ought to, they resorted to buying generators for the courts where their cases will be heard. The generators will be serving only the courts where their cases are being heard. They will do all sorts of things for the judges just to secure conviction. These are the things that are going on and it is spoiling this profession. I’m 40 years old at the Bar. Where do you want me to go? Is it to go and learn how to sell cement or learn bricklaying? I have no other job than this profession. Why should we allow the profession to be destroyed even by the establishment? The judges do not see anything wrong with it, whereas a lot is wrong with AMCON organising seminar for them. It is a pity that we lost people like Gani Fawehinmi. I recalled when they put the picture of General Ibrahim Babangida, the then Military Head of State, in the courts and the judge was sitting under it, he challenged it. Justice for the accused You see, there must be a level playing field before you can have justice. There must be justice for the accused and justice for AMCON. Although what we are saying sounds like a joke, but it is a serious matter. A party in a case should not be hosting judges who will decide cases in which they may be involved now or in the near future. If there is any law, the judges should interpret it and if they don’t do it correctly, you go to the Court of Appeal. It is not for AMCON to now call a judge to a seminar and be explaining the law to them. That is what I feel about it. What about where the Nigerian Institute of Advance Legal Studies, NIALS, organise seminars for judges? That is different. The Nigerian Institute of Advance legal Studies doesn’t have any case before the judges. I am not aware of any. It is also a body created purposely for knowledge development. But, AMCON by virtue of its portfolio and because they are involved in so many financial cases, they are not the same. For instance, if you go through the list of the Federal High Court, there is hardly any day you don’t see AMCON featuring at least once or twice. Because they manage assets for banks and other financial institutions, they have many cases in the courts. If you slap someone who is poor, he may not say anything, but if you slap someone who is rich, he will tell you that, “Í will show you who I am,” and he will hire a lawyer. So, these are the type of people that AMCON is dealing with. People who can afford to hire lawyers to fight them. There are instances where the courts have to interpret the law and there instances where the courts have to use its discretion. For instance, if you go to court and asked for an adjournment, the court has the discretion whether or not to grant the adjournment. So, if you’re somebody who is well disposed, you will have your ways before the judges. The judicial job is very delicate and does not call for wining and dining. There is National Judicial Institute, which is used to train judges and to organise seminal for judges. What AMCON is doing is not for them to do because there is already a statutory body established for training judges and to enlighten them. AMCON can give money to the Judicial Institute to host the event, but it’s wrong for AMCON to host the event for judges. We should not expose our judges to these kinds of influences. The National Judicial Institute is managed by a Justice of the Court of Appeal or of the Supreme Court. What was it like the days you started practicing the profession of law? In those day, this sort of thing will not happen, but these days, when all sorts of people are appointed to the Bench, you also see all manner of things. I was called to Bar 40 years ago and I know what the Bench was as at that time. At that particular time, people don’t apply to be judges, it was the Judicial Service Commission, which will invite you after a thorough assessment of your performance at the Bar. But, because salaries of judges at that time were not much, many people did not show interest in becoming judges. It was the military that started the appointment of their cronies as judges and nobody queried them. The same is happening today, some lawyers who were managing restaurants and others who have relocated to America are often invited to become judges. It is a fact that most of judges in some states are children of former judges and prominent people in the state. Corruption involving judicial officers at the top echelon of the judiciary has exposed the judiciary to much ridicule. What does this portend for the country? When I started practice, most of these things happening today were unknown. For instance, it was not common for you to just walk into a Judge Chambers just as we do these days. The judges were high on top, but these days you find out that some of them have descended from their Olympian heights and have started mingling with lawyers and other members of the public. In those days, if you became a judge, you have sentenced yourself to a life of a hermit in which you keep away from members of the public as much as possible. At that time, many of the judges were very upright and if you went to court in those days, you would know that any judgment that came down from the Bench was judgment according to the justice of the case. Sadly, most of the things happening now do not make us happy. Larger society You find out that it is just a reflection of what is happening in the larger society. These judges did not come from the moon. They are our brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, and they are part of us. It is a corruption that has eaten deep into the society. For instance, when we were young, all the politicians at that time went into politics for the public good. The likes of Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello and Nnamdi Azikiwe. You did not see them acquire property in the United Kingdom or Dubai in those days. Many of the politicians actually went to serve, but can you say that about our politicians these days? When people went to the Bench in those days, it was to make themselves immortal. Many of the judges we are reading their judgments today died long time ago. But, as far as the lawyers are concerned, they are immortal because they speak to us from the grave through the judgments they wrote. That is the sense in which people went to the Bench in those days, but it is no longer the case these days. One is not really happy about what is happening in the judiciary today. What is your suggestion for the ongoing national conference? I will like them to advocate more on true federalism. If you look at Kano State, it has almost 50 local governments, but the people in Kano are not up to the people in Lagos. Today, if you want to pass any Act in the National Assembly and you did not get the support of the North, it will not pass through. National conference This is because there are more people from the North in the National Assembly than Southerners. This is the imbalance which we want them to correct at the national conference. We should go back to the regions, so that each region can grow at its pace. All over the world, you see more people staying in the coastal area, where there is constant rain than the arid hinterland, it is only in Nigeria that the reverse is the case. That is why we are asking for true federalism, so that we go back to the regions. Do you know that some people from Bayelsa State have never been to Abuja until they got elected to the National Assembly? They were surprises that in Abuja where there are no rivers, there are many bridges. However, in Bayelsa State, where there are many rivers, there are no bridges. The South West is set to produce the next president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, when the tenure of the incumbent, Mr. Okey Wali, SAN, expires. What is your take on talk of consensus candidate? They should throw the contest open and lay good example for politicians. But, what I think is that they already have a candidate, which they want to impose on the people and that is not democratic. Source vanguard
