Ahamba, Kalu, Adegoke, Ajulo rise against ‘reckless war against judiciary’

Dec 19,2023.

A cross section of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, have kicked against sweeping allegations of fraud and corruption against judges and the judiciary over some controversial decisions entered by few judges in political cases.

They warned those involved to desist in the interest of the country and its citizens.

According to them, tarnishing the image of the nation’s judiciary could lead to anarchy.

Among the Senior Advocates who expressed their displeasure are Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, a former Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Awa Kalu, SAN, rights activist, Mr Kunle Adegoke, SAN, and constitutional lawyer, Dr Olukayode Ajulo, SAN.

The senior lawyers, who disagreed with their colleagues, said they ought to know that portraying the judiciary as a failed institution amounted to endorsing anarchy to terminate the Nigeria project.

According to them, while it is not in doubt that few judges across levels of court lately gave certain controversial judgments in some political cases, demonizing the entire judiciary because of the few errors was unfair to the majority of upright judges faithfully discharging their duties.

They added that it also has the capacity to undermine the legitimacy of the third arm of government which thrives on public perception.

The lawyers had separately said while it is understandable that politicians would eulogize the judiciary each time its verdicts were in their favour and would not stop at anything to set the institution ablaze when its judgments are against them, it is disturbing that lawyers who understand procedure would join the fray and most times sponsor the denigration war against the judiciary.

They spoke at separate interviews with NAIJA247NEWS correspondent, counselling their colleagues on how to handle situations where wrong judgments were entered in cases.

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Kunle Adegoke, SAN, said, “Yes, we have few elements in the judiciary that are bad. We cannot shy away from that. It is, however, easier to notice the negative side of any person or any system.

“The positive aspect hardly registers sufficiently to the good measure of appreciation by the populace.

“And when in a system, a few bad elements commit some atrocities, the tendency is for the people to register a negative perception against such a system.

In the judiciary today, I still believe as a practitioner that we have a majority of judges that are quite upright.

“Those ones are doing creditably well. It will now be a form of injustice to rubbish the entire judiciary because of the negative activities of a few of the judges that are perpetrating atrocities.

“Besides, when you look at the judicial system in Nigeria and the Nigerian populace, the tendency is for some people to want to blame every other person except themselves for their own failure.

There are many cases that I believe have been rightly decided yet generating controversy and attracting negative comments both in the conventional and social media.”.

“And until you read some of those judgments, that is when you will see that many of such cases are naturally bound to fail as a result of the way they were presented to the judiciary or the inherent failure in the facts presented to the court and the inability of such cases to meet the requirements of the law.

“It is therefore my position that a few wrong judgments here and there cannot and should not lead to a total damnation of the judicial system.(www.naija247news.com)

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Reporting by Peter Anene, Business Editor in Lagos, Nigeria.