Can Musdapher play Messiah for Judiciary within 10 months? • An insight into challenges before CJN to restore Judiciary integrity By KAYODE KETEFE Whenever something goes wrong with an organisation or institution, the imperative of remedial measures for normalisation and reformation is never in doubt, it is however the precise things that need to be done that may be elicit diverse opinions. The Nigerian Judiciary has never really been free of problems but the recent, now famous Justices Isa Salami/ Iyorgher Katsina-Alu hostility has introduced a frightening dimension to the problems afflicting the sacred organ. The scandal spawned by the said open fight between the then occupiers of the two topmost courts in Nigeria was so embarrassing that it would be an understatement to say it lowered the image of the institution in the reckoning of ordinary Nigerians. It is therefore understandable that most stakeholders in the administration of justice in Nigeria now come up with a plethora of recommendations on how to positively reposition the third arm of government and restore its glory. As the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, was formally sworn-in last Monday, many of these stakeholders have also freely offered recommendations both on how to mend the leaking house of the Judiciary and aid its efficiency in performance of its constitutional role. However, while it is true that by virtue of his office, heavy responsibilities devolves on Musdapher , it may not be easy, for a number of reasons, to be too positive on amount of success that may be achieved by him. The first of these challenges that may militate against Musdapher achievements is time constraint. The new CJN, who is already over 69 years of age now, has only ten months more to spend before he clocks the statutory age of retirement of 70 next July 14. Not many people are convinced that much could be achieved within the short time, especially as many of the challenges are not superficial but deep rooted. Nonetheless, this is not to say that he could not lay a good foundation for overhauling the Judiciary that his successors could build on. Many believe he should streamlined the tasks and be focused, perhaps setting agenda for two or three aspects of the tasks to be accomplished and devoted himself to their realisation. The second challenge could be gleaned from the fact that most of recommendations being offered by stakeholders would require amendment to the 1999 Constitution. For example the restructuring of the National Judicial Council would require the amendment to the constitution because it was created by the constitution which also defines its functions and powers. Now, amending the constitution is not a child play. Under Section 9 of the constitution which relates to the process of its amendment, for any amendment that does not relate to fundamental human rights to be procured, it must be supported by two-thirds majority of members of the National assembly and also approved by not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of the state legislatures in Nigeria. This certainly does not look something that can be hurriedly achieved. Thirdly, for any genuine change to take place there must be will on the part of the reformer. In this case the pertinent questions being asked by some critics are "Does Musdapher himself have the genuine unencumbered will to effect the needed reforms and does the Federal Government has the requisite political will to procure the change?" It is trite that Political will or lack of it on the part of the government may thwart any plan for change if it adjudges the status quo to be in it s interest. In an apparent answer to this insinuation, President Goodluck Jonathan, while swearing-in Musdapher on September 26, 2011, promised to support wholeheartedly the efforts to reposition the Judiciary. He said "On the part of the executive, we pledge to make ourselves available and ready to partner with your Lordship on how to make the judiciary more efficient and inspire the generality of our citizens to become more confident about the capacity of the judiciary to do justice to all men. "To this end, this administration will give full support to your Lordship's Reform Initiatives and necessary funding will be made available. "I will personally liaise with the National Assembly to support constitutional amendments necessary to further ensure the independence of the Judiciary and improve judicial efficiency." Now if that is not reassuring what else would be? Nonetheless, many critics readily point to the manner the immediate past President of the Court of Appeal, Salami was booted out and replaced by the President by the incumbent, Dalhatu Adamu, as a show of bad faith by the government. The Presidency had announced the replacement of Salami at a time agitations of major stakeholders were at the highest decibels that the decision of the NJC recommending the removal of Salami should not be heeded. There is even the insinuation that Salami was removed to prepare the ground in anticipation of the petition filed by President Jonathan's political adversaries to upturn his election at the April Presidential poll which is coming to the Court of Appeal in its jurisdiction as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Salami, many believed, is seen as "anti-establishment" radical who could constitute potential problem that would be inimical to the interest of powers-that- be. While it is difficult to make a sweeping generalisation like this without concrete evidence, it is nonetheless remarkable that Salami's view and insight on issues are essentially independent. This is evident in his inexorable stance on the issue of Sokoto State election petition, among others, which led to his face off between him and Katisina-Alu. Be that as it may, the feeling still persists that the action of the presidency in the Salami/Katsina-Alu sordid affair is far from being above board and does not inspire confidence that Judiciary would be absolutely free from political interference in the near future. Regarding the personal will of Musdapher himself, the new CJN stated his commitment to have an upright Judiciary at a special court session to mark the beginning of a new legal year in Abuja on September 19, he said "As its stands today, it appears that the society we serve is not entirely satisfied with our performance. Hard as it may be to accept, we feel it is less important to focus on whether this assessment is fair or not. The important thing is for us to transparently come to terms with the prevailing realities, accept the gap in expectations and do our utmost to bridge it." This utterance decidedly projects a genuine desire for change. But there is segment of the people who still feels Musdapher might not be the expected Messiah for the Judiciary. These people rather see him as being pro-establishment. They would cite the fact that Musdapher was one of the justices of the Supreme Court, who declared the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua winner of the April 21, 2007 presidential poll. It will be recalled that while determining the suit instituted by former Vice President , Atiku Abubakar and others challenging Yar'Adua's election, Musdapher, and three others, Justices Idris Kutigi, Katsina-Alu and Niki Tobi upheld Yar'Adua's election, and dismissed the petition against him. Three others, Justices George Oguntade, Maryam Aloma-Muktar and Samuel Onnoghen nullified Yar'Adua's election and called for a fresh election within 90 days. But the fact that a particular judgment favours the government of the day does not mean it is bad. Besides, in fairness to the CJN, his judicial pronouncements are not always what one could call pro-government of the day. For instance When Independent National Electoral Commission refused to register some political parties prior to 2003 general election, Musdapher, on July 26 2002 gave judgment in support of the excluded parties. Delivering the lead judgment in the said suit instituted by the National Conscience Party and other parties excluded by INEC, Musdapher pronounced as follows "Applying all the principles mentioned above, once an association meets the conditions spelt out under section 222 and section 223, such an association automatically transforms and becomes a political party capable of sponsoring candidates and canvassing for votes in any constitutionally recognised elective offices throughout Nigeria" In his view on what to expect from Musdapher, a former President of the NBA, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, said "How far Musdapher can go depends on how soon he settled down to work, he is losing a lot of grounds already. He does not need to waste time because he has always been a part of the system. So it is not new to him, he should hit the ground running in the light of the short time available to him" Speaking in similar vein, the Executive Director of a Lagos-based non-governmental organisation, Access to Justice, Mr. Joseph chuma otteh, said "Dahiru Musdapher can go far enough in remaking things, if he strives hard enough. He's gotten one thing right – though not nearly as right as we'd like to see. He sees that there's a major public perception problem with the Judiciary and that the public may have lost faith in justice institutions. He didn't go as far as admitting directly that the judiciary created and constitutes the problem. "But anyway, he's offering something that's capable of constituting a credible point of departure. – the idea of reform beginning with a Committee. Because of the shortness of time as Chief Justice, I think he should have hit the ground running with that agenda, right from the time he took the baton even in acting capacity. He now needs to draw up a realisable set of objectives, from short-term to long term goals, mobilise everybody within the sector, and work strategically. We wish him every success." A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs Funke Adekoya, who believes the power of the new CJN should be whittled down as one of the preliminary measures towards reforming the Judiciary, said "I think the power that the Chief Justice of Nigeria have with respect to the composition of the National Judicial Council, with respect to the composition of the Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee should really be watered down. "I believe and it is the position of the Bar that the disciplinary function of the NJC should be vested on retired judges so that there would be no interest to be served." A former Head of the Rickey Tarfa Chambers who is now the Commissioner for Education in Ogun State, Mr. John Odubela, called on the new CJN to review the state of the Judiciary with a view to formulate the best ways to forge ahead, he said "My agenda for the new CJN to review the events of the last 24 months particularly as it relates to the offices of the CJN, President of the Court of Appeal and NJC and the roles played by each of them. He also needs to ensure measures are put in place to prevent recurrence of this kind of unfortunate scandal, it is not good for the image of the Judiciary" The Chairman of the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Taiwo Taiwo, said "I want the new CJN to reach out to all stakeholders in order to assuage them. By this I mean particularly the Nigerian Bar Association and the Bench." Another Lagos-based lawyer and human right activist, Mr. Tola Apata said "We are praying for the new CJN to succeed and I believe he can succeed if he can muster the will power. He has to collaborate with other stakeholders to achieve the task of moving the Judiciary forward. But if his recent utterance at the new legal year service is anything to go by, then he has started in the right direction in spite of the little time he has left in his career" |
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