The acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday inaugurated Justice Walter Onnoghen as the 20th substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria. This followed his confirmation by the Senate last week.
Onnoghen became the first CJN from the Southern part of Nigeria in 30 years. Onnoghen, who acted as the CJN for over three months, was confirmed after he appeared before the upper legislative chamber for proper scrutiny and screening by the Senate Committee of the Whole.
After his confirmation, the new CJN promised to surmount every challenge bedeviling the Nigerian judicial system and restore it to its past glory. Onnoghen also pledged his readiness to help the Muhammadu Buhari administration succeed in its ongoing fight against corruption in the country.
Following this development, Nigerians, who believed in the new CJN’s integrity and personality, said his tenure in office as the CJN would give fillip to President Buhari’s campaign against corruption.
But in the contrary, analysts have opined that Justice Onnoghen was taking over as the CJN at a time the Nigerian judiciary is on trial. They argued that the judiciary has lately been riddled with sundry allegations of corruption, which had lowered its esteem in the public’s eyes, adding that the immediate challenge before Justice Onnoghen is to redeem the judiciary’s battered image, by weeding out corrupt and indolent judges, who had in a way or the other contributed to logs of delayed justice, which has been described as justice denied, in the ongoing war against corruption in the country.
Speaking on the development, Muyiwa Sabo, a legal practitioner, expressed worry over the state of Nigerian judiciary, which now has so many instances of delayed cases in its custody. He said, “Nigeria is only the country where cases are handled in ridiculous ways. Imagine the number of delayed cases in our judiciary.
We all know delay of cases which administration of justice has. Imagine in a criminal procedure, where somebody will appeal for years because of delay of notice and the group will appeal that for years, whereas the main case is still standing there, witnesses are running away for years, at the end of the day, everyone will be tired, including the judge, and the criminal will now walk away free.
“Fundamental changes must be made in the judiciary, we need to move in the direction of developed judiciaries across the world. By this, we will not have unnecessary delayed justice that pervaded our system today. If we are serious about the fight against corruption, we need to take advantage of new technology and others to improve our judicial system.”
Highlighting his expectations from the new CJN, Mr. Paul Ananaba, SAN said, “The new CJN should take the judiciary to a greater level. He should sustain the good works that his predecessors have been doing to the extent that the judiciary will be fearless and courageous to dispense justice.
He should ensure that the war against corruption is always carried out in the judiciary, so that we will have zero tolerance for corruption.” Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Adebayo Adelodun, SAN said, “I expect that the judiciary will continue to give direction to this country.
Democracy can never strive where the judiciary is failing in its duty. I say without fear of contradiction that the progress we have recorded so far in our democratic experiment has been due largely to the judiciary.
Yes, judiciary is an institution made up of human beings, and it has its own problems and there have been a couple of judicial officers, who have been found not to be upright. But, that can be overcome.
“I expect that the judiciary will do a lot of house cleaning, so that before it begin to beam its search light to the outside, it should start from the inside. Any bad egg that will give the judiciary a bad name should be shown the way out, so that the judiciary can concentrate on giving democracy a change in this country.”
A Lagos based lawyer, Mr. Sunday Onu, said “There is need for cleansing in the judiciary, because the decay that beset every department and sector in the country has also affected the judiciary.
Whereas in western countries, their institutions protects the integrity of their citizens, but in our own case, the institutions are already corrupted. We have few individuals fighting against corruption. How do you now fight against institutional corruption?
“Corruption in Nigeria is like a wasting disease, it is easy to detect, but difficult to cure. Justice has become merchandised. We hope that things will improve beyond the rituals, when judges sit in political meetings. We are actually in a mess, I am sorry to say.”
However, Nigerians believed that the days and experience of the new CJN at the bench will bring an end to delayed justice in the system. The following are some of the pending cases brought before the judiciary by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Corruption, which had suffered so much delay:
Peter Odili
A former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, had a rough time with the EFCC, even before the end of his two-term tenure in 2007.
His travails started when the antigraft agency investigated the finances of Rivers State, and he was alleged to have diverted over N100 billion of the state’s funds.
Following the indicting report, on February 22, 2007, the then Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Rivers State filed a suit challenging the powers of the EFCC to probe the affairs of the state. He claimed that the activities of the EFCC were prejudicial to the smooth running of the government of Rivers State. However, the case was stalled, when the presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, heeded to Odili’s request and granted a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from probing the former governor. But recently, the EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu, confirmed to the media the perpetual injunction issued on Odili’s case and said the commission’s quest to appeal the matter was being frustrated by the Court of Appeal since 2008. According to the EFCC, the case of Odili would be reopened.
Joshua Dariye
tate, Chief Joshua Dariye, has also been having a running battle with the EFCC, after he was alleged to have siphoned about N1.2 billion of the state’s ecological fund. He was arraigned on a 23-count charge of diversion of funds into private accounts and money laundering.
He was also alleged to have diverted about N204million, meant for the state treasury, to Ebenezer Retnan Ventures, a company linked to him. The EFCC in 2004 received a petition from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, regarding a request by the UK Metropolitan Police for the investigation of some companies linked to Dariye. He was still the governor of the state. The anti-graft agency investigated some banks mentioned in the petition and they also quizzed some companies and individuals mentioned. The case remained delayed.
Adebayo Alao-Akala
The former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala was arraigned alongside his former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Hosea Agboola, and a businessman, Mr. Femi Babalola on a N11.5 billion fraud. Justice Akintunde Boade of the Oyo State High Court, on December 12, 2012, ruled that the former governor, and the two others, who were charged by the EFCC for the N11.5 billion fraud, had a case to answer. They had earlier demanded that the charges be quashed. The anti-graft agency alleged that the former governor and the two others awarded contracts without budgetary provisions and by obtaining falsely.
According to the EFCC’s preliminary report into a petition by one Mr. Kunle Jimoh and Mr. Julius Dada, it said that Alao-Akala routinely inflated contracts with a view to enriching himself. However, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, counsel to the defendants filed a preliminary objection to the charges, praying the court to quash them on grounds that the EFCC lacked evidence to back the allegations. They also questioned the jurisdiction of the court, pointing out that it was abuse of power to put anybody on trial for an offence not proven. This case has also remained unresolved.
Orji Uzor Kalu
The EFCC accused a former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, of diverting the state’s N5.6 billion while in office between 1999 and 2007. He was arraigned in July 2007 on a 107-count charge of money laundering, official corruption and criminal diversion of public funds. Kalu was charged alongside his company, Slok Nigeria. He had urged the trial court to quash the charges, because he claimed no evidence was established against him. But when he took the matter before the Appeal Court, it ruled that he has a case to answer. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has also upheld the ruling of the Appeal Court and ordered that Kalu submits himself for trial.
Boni Haruna
Former governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Boni Haruna, is facing a 28-count charge of fraud and embezzlement preferred against him and three others by the EFCC.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided by Justice Adamu Bello on November 15, 2012, dismissed the application of the former governor and three others to quash the charges of fraud and embezzlement of public fund preferred against them.
Others charged with the former governor are: Mohammed Inuwa Bassi, a former Minority Leader in the Adamawa State House of Assembly, John Babani Elias, an aide to the former governor and Al-Akim Investment Nigeria Limited.
According to the EFCC, Haruna was said to have fraudulently altered a cheque dated 13/11/2002 in the sum of N10 million operated by him in the name of Mohammed Inuwa Bassi, with intent that the said cheque may be acted as genuine and thereby committed an offence.
Similarly, he was alleged to have on or about March, 12, 2003, while as governor, fraudulently altered a cheque in the sum of N16.125 million operated by him, in the name of Mohammed Inuwa Bassi, with intent that the said cheque may be acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 3 (2) (a) of Miscellaneous offences Act, Cap 410 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 as amended by the Tribunals (certain Consequential Amendments, etc), Decree no. 62 of 1999 and punishable under Section 3 (2) of the same Act.
Olisa Metuh
The former spokesman the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, was implicated in the $2.1 billion arms contracts, as the EFCC traced N1.4 billion to the account of a company allegedly linked to him. He is also facing a seven-count charge of money laundering involving the sum of N400 million, part of the $2.1bn arms fund.
These cases and many others have continued to suffer adjournments upon adjournments.
There are also many other civil and criminal cases that are still yet to see the light of the day in the judiciary, due to incessant and unjustified delays.
It is therefore expected that the new CJN will use his good office to ensure that these cases are expeditely concluded successfully, so that the course of justice would be seen to have been served.
