How the judiciary holds balance of justice during Buhari’s four-year rule

The last four years of President Muhammadu Buhari literally put the judiciary on trial. In this report, KEHINDE OSASONA generally assesses the performance of the third arm of government in its primary duty of interpreting laws in various cases that came before it, including those affecting its members.

From the magistracy to the Supreme Court, the dockets of the courts were heavy in the last four years. There were more cases on the cause lists of trial judges than what they could conveniently cope with. This is aside other challenges confronting them which ranged from absence of modern working tools, poor working conditions to blackmail by politicians during and after trials of political cases. 

Notwithstanding the challenges, the judiciary has been up and doing. For instance, during the 2016/2017 legal year alone, available statistics reveal that the Supreme Court handed down 243 judgments, out of a total of 1,362 cases it treated.

According to the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, he said the number of determined cases was a positive development, despite the “numerous challenges faced by the judiciary” during the years in question.

His words: “In the course of the 2016/2017 legal year, the Supreme Court considered a total number of 1,362 matters comprising motions, appeals and judgments.

“Under motions, there were 82 political, 675 civil and 208 criminal motions, totalling 965.

“The Court also considered a total number of 394 appeals comprising 96 political, 174 civil, and 124 criminal cases. In total, 243 judgments were delivered in the 2016/2017 legal year,” he said.

In the last four years under review, a lot of cases affecting members of the key organs of government who belonged to both opposition and ruling political parties were submitted to the judiciary for adjudication with the expectation to get justice.

But because of the character of the litigants and the nature of disputes submitted, there was hardly any ruling or judgment that came from the judiciary without criticism depending on who won or lost.  

In fact, when President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was ushered-in in 2015, on the premise that it was coming to rid the country of hydra-headed corruption that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the nation, politicians in the opposition were expectedly ready for a big fight but with their hopes strongly in the judiciary.

It was not surprising however when the administration hit the ground running by investigating and arresting key government officials under the previous government of President Good luck Jonathan.

For instance, Buhari government, on June 3, 2015, went after former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. The governor was arrested by EFCC on alleged misappropriation of N300 billion received from the Federation Account while he held sway as the state chief executive governor between 2003 and 2011. He had surrendered himself to the EFCC for questioning and was released on bail on June 4, 2015.

Also in June, 2015, six top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria and 16 other employees of commercial banks were arrested by EFCC over N8 billion currency scam. They were sacked and arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, from Tuesday June 2, 2015 to Thursday June 4, 2015.

In June 2015, President Buhari ordered the EFCC to reopen the $182m Halliburton bribery case following a request by the United States.

The revelation by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on the illegal oil deals during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan had also triggered a massive investigation of big fishes in the sector.

Sanusi had raised concern over the failure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to deposit a princely sum of $20 billion of oil revenues into the federation account.

Diezani Alison-Madueke,an ex- minister of Petroleum resources was declared wanted in connection with the exposé.

The Buhari government also investigated how the security money approved by the immediate past government for arms purchase, which was allegedly domiciled in the former National Security Adviser’s Office (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (Rtd.) was utilised.

The report of the probe panel had revealed that the sum of $2.1 billion was released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to former National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Dasuki (Rtd.) for arms purchase but the money was allegedly diverted, used and/or shared among PDP bigwigs and their cohorts as campaign money during the 2015 Presidential elections.

The National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Late Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, former Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal Adeshola  Amosu,  and some retired military chiefs  were interrogated in connection with the money while some had already appeared in court to face charges pressed against them.

The EFCC held Jonathan’s ex-ADC, Colonel Ojogbane Adegbe, who according to them, had a clue as to how some of the money was allegedly shared.

As at the last count, 29 serving and retired military officers and more than 22 companies were implicated in the arms deals.

Buhari government also descended on both the legislature and the judiciary arms of government for sanitisation.

It first went after the Senate President, Dr Olubukola Sasaki whom it accused to have illegally operated foreign accounts while he was the governor of Kwara State.

Some judges of the high court and justices of the Supreme Court, under a sting operation, carried out by men and officers of the DSS, were also arrested at about 1:00am at night in the most bizarre manner.

Operatives of the Department of State Service had in October 2016 executed the overnight raid on the residences of senior judges across the country, recovering huge cash and documents linking the judges to exotic properties and suspected corrupt practices.

The arrested judges were Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, Justice Inyang Okoro,; Justice Mohammed Tsamiya and  Justice Kabiru Auta

Others were Justice Adeniyi Ademola; Justice I. A. Umezulike, and Muazu Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division.

Notwithstanding the condemnation of the attack on the judiciary, the administration of President Buhari again went after the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen.

The chief justice was said to have also operated illegally foreign accounts while he was still in service.

Saraki’s celebrated trial

Saraki came under scrutiny after it was discovered that he made false assets declaration when he was governor for eight years in Kwara State. He was thereafter arraigned and docked before the CCT under the Chairmanship of Danladi Umar.

The legal tussle which was prolonged for almost three years went as far as the apex court, (Supreme Court) where Saraki eventually got discharged and acquitted with all the 18 count-charge preferred against him thrown out for lacking in merit.

But while his trial lasted at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, the governorhad blamed his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on political reasons, alleging that his emergence as the President of the Senate did not go down well with some powerful clicks.

Arrest and trial of judges

Some of the judges arrested were also docked including Supreme Court justices.

Notwithstanding that the judges were members of the high bench, the judiciary did not use another standard for their trial. Positive and negative rulings were issued against them by their colleagues on the bench depending on the nature of the evidence against them and the applicable laws.

Onnoghen Gate

Apart from the trial and suspension of some judges after invasion of their residence on suspicious allegation, the other big trial was that of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, SAN

Onnoghen was also under a controversial circumstance suspended on January 25 by President Muhammadu Buhari and replaced with the current acting CJN, Muhammad Tanko.

Like Saraki, Onnoghen trial too bordered on false asset declaration at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and for operating a domiciliary account.

Although Onnoghen struggled to frustrate his trial in court but as much as he tried, the judiciary which he headed sent him back to the Code of Conduct Tribunal to face his trial.

No help came even from the Supreme Court where he was numero uno for a couple of years.

In fact, his arrest was ordered and was to be bundled like a common criminal to court when he quickly ran to court to avert public disgrace.

Delivering judgment on Onnoghen at the tribunal, its Chairman, Danladi Umar held that the CJN  had contravened the provisions of the Code of Conduct for public officers.

The Tribunal, thereafter, convicted Justice Onnoghen and removed him from office as the CJN and Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

Justice Onnoghen was also banned from holding public office for the next 10 years and ordered to forfeit all five accounts said not to have been declared by him between 2009 and 2015.

One would have thought that the judiciary would shield its own as the executive or the legislature used to do but it did not.

Three former governors jailed

The war against graft scored another recorded another milestone when former governors of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye, bagged 14-year prison term for fraud, the conviction came less than one month after the imprisonment of former governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba State.

Without doubt, the events in the last four years of Buhari government’s rule were enough for the judiciary to buckle and destroy itself but from all indications, they had strengthened the hopes of the common man to get justice from the third arm of government.

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