CJN to judges: Don’t succumb to “mob mentality” in deciding cases

 

IBRAHIM QUADRI and Chigozie Ikpo, Abuja

 

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice, CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola, has urged judges on the nation’s bench to strive to overcome what he described as “mob mentality” in dispensing justice.

He said they should not give in to mob mentality, insisting that public opinion and emotions can never take the place of the law in deciding the cases.

Ariwoola spoke on Monday in Abuja at the opening of the special session of the 2023/2024 Legal Year and the swearing-in of 58 newly appointed Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).

With the contentious and complex nature of electoral disputes and the recent outcomes, he urged all judges to always “discharge all judicial functions with all the humility at your command.”

According to him, “I expect every judicial officer to work very hard and also be very honest and courteous to the litigants, witnesses and members of the bar, and discharge all your judicial functions with all the humility at your command.

“Even while doing this, it is still necessary to have at the back of your minds that public opinions, sentiments or emotions can never take the place of the law in deciding the cases that come before you.

“The law remains the law, no matter whose interest is involved. In all we do, as interpreters of the law, we should endeavour to severe the strings of emotion from logic and assumption from fact.

“We should never be overwhelmed by the actions or loud voices of the mob or crowd and now begin to confuse law with sentiment or something else in deciding our cases.

“Nevertheless, unnecessary and unwarranted utterances are bound to embarrass not only others, but the Judge himself; thus what should be asked, should be asked, and what should not be asked, should be avoided.”

Ariwoola said judges must make books their armour and not be afraid of venturing into “unchartered territories”, stressing that it is through this that they “confront the headwinds of ignorance, conservatism and stagnation.”

He said: “I therefore, advise all judicial officers serving in our jurisdiction to make books their armour and hard work their armaments to confront the headwinds of ignorance, conservatism and stagnation.

“It is imperative to know that the world we are only remembers those who lead from the front and set trends for others to emulate.”

Meanwhile, Justice Ariwoola has hinted that the Supreme Court will soon get  an additional set of Justices to increase the number to 21, as prescribed by the constitution.

He noted that this was the first time the apex court is left with just 10 justices, as the number had depleted in recent months, leaving the court with enormous workload, due to the number of appeals brought before it, including election matters.

Ariwoola announced that the Federal High Court has had 23 new Justices sworn in, while the Court of Appeal has had 9, all in few months, and said the Apex Court in the same vein, will also have new Justices, to help ease the pressure on the court.

He said, “What has been pending for a very long time; even long before I assumed office in June, 2023, is the appointment of Justices to fill the many vacancies that have been created as a result of deaths and retirements of our brother Justices.

“For the first time in the history of the Supreme Court, eight Honourable Justices were sworn-in to fill the positions vacated by our esteemed colleagues who retired; as well as enlarging the profile of our judicial strength by increasing the number of Justices to an all-time high number of 20 in November, 2020.

“That, indeed, was first of its kind in our history. If for anything, that interesting development has, to a large extent, increased our adjudicatory capacity and reduced the number of nights we stayed awake as a result of workload. That in itself was a cheery news to the retinue of appellants that throng the Court on a regular basis.

“However, that joyful moment soon paled into lamentation and intense complaints of some sorts from various quarters, as the trend experienced a sudden reversal, owing to the un-fanciful gale of retirement that soon hit the Court, which has, for the very first time in a very long while, brought the number of our Honourable Justices to an all-time low of just 10 Justices.

“Efforts were made by my predecessor to increase the number but that was unsuccessful before he left office. However, the cheery news is that as soon as I assumed office on the 27th day of June, 2022, I immediately got down to work on this urgent and immediate need in particular.

“Though we have not gotten them on board yet, I can convincingly assure the litigant public that within a very short while, the Supreme Court of Nigeria will, for the very first time in its history, get the Constitutionally-prescribed full complement of 21 Justices. That is one of the legacies I have been working assiduously to leave behind as it now seems that the Court has been somewhat ‘jinxed’ from meeting its Constitutional requirement since that piece of legislation was enacted several years ago”.

Ariwoola said the Judiciary is poised to reposition effectively for effective justice delivery, adding that the judiciary is determined to earn public trust, both nationally and globally.

He said “The rule of law and the holistic independence of the judiciary should always be cherished by all. As the Chief Justice of Nigeria, I will do everything within my ability to make it remain part of my responsibility to nourish.

“The Judiciary, as it is today, is more deserving of public trust and confidence than ever before; and we are poised to reposition it for effective justice delivery to make our beloved country a destination of note in the observance of the rule of law and tenets of Constitutionalism. Nigeria must move forward in all spheres of life; and we must collectively evolve a society where things must be done right to get the right environment for every right thing to thrive rightly for our collective good.

“Let me state it clearly here that the true touch-stone for measuring the success of a Judicial Institution is the degree of confidence reposed in it by the public. It is a solemn pledge that we, as a judicial body, are making at this occasion that we are definitely going to work more assiduously and tirelessly to make our country earn for itself the fullest respect and confidence of both the citizens and the international community”, he said.

He congratulated the new Senior Advocates and charged them to uphold fairness and maintain the integrity of the profession at all times.

Also speaking, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, admonished the new SANs to always maintain a high level of professional standard and be honest at all times.

He said “the conferment of the rank of SAN is a privileged position for the deserving only. Every visionary professional, strives to attain the apex of such profession. Expectedly, the rank is being conferred on worthy advocates, as a prestigious honour, in recognition of their excellence in advocacy and leadership role in the field of law or legal practice.

“Your new and enviable status demands that you must be honest and maintain professional standards at all times within and outside the court room towards the judex, colleagues, clients, and the public in general. You must maintain very high standard of professional conduct in the discharge of your duties.

“Being a privilege also means that it can be lost or taken away, it is worthy of note that under the new rules once a name is struck off there is no provision for restoration of the name to the roll, therefore, you must continue to sustain the standards and qualities for which you were considered worthy of the rank ab initio.

“I wish to remind you that your new status comes with its peculiar privileges, benefits, challenges and responsibilities. Your preoccupation should not be limited to the privileges and pecuniary benefits associated with the rank.

“You are required to advance the course of justice, rule of law, promotion of the image or rating of the judiciary and legal profession as worthy ambassadors. You should always be willing and ready to exhibit exceptional understanding and knowledge of the law, contribute to legal education.

“The development of the legal profession rests on your shoulders. You must therefore advocate for technological and modern innovations that will bring the practice of law in Nigeria in line with global standards.

Fagbemi noted that the Supreme Court has in recent times had a huge shortfall of justices and urged the National Judicial Council to fast-track the process so that the vacancies in the Apex Court can be filled up.

Meanwhile, Lagos People’s Democratic Party, PDP Elders on Monday expressed sadness over conflicting judgements coming from courts, noting compromised judiciary is dangerous for the polity.

 

The elders resolved that something urgent must be done to stop this malady.

 

They pointed out that pronouncements from courts must be infallible, saying the situation where people began to question the judgement of a particular court showed that there was crisis in the polity.

 

They reiterated the conflicting judgements coming from a few of the judges made the belief of many Nigerians in the judiciary to be shaken.

 

The statement was signed by a former national Deputy Chairman of PDP,  Chief Olabode George, former women leader of the party, Chief Mrs Onikepo Oshodi, former Deputy Governor of Lagus , Mrs Kofoworola Bucknor Akerele and 30 other leaders in the State.

 

The statement, which was read by George  in his Ikoyi office on behalf of others was titled, ‘When Nigerians’ no Longer Trust Third Estate of the Realm, Anarchy Looms, said, “These are not the best of times for the Judiciary in Nigeria.”

 

The statement partly read, “Today, what is oozing from the third arm of government in the world’s most populous black nation is offensive to millions of Nigerians. And when the Judiciary is compromised, one way or the other, in a democratic system, then democracy is gone.

 

“Many Nigerians believe that members of the Executive and Legislature are already living in a different planet. So, they see the Judiciary as the last ‘Estate’ standing in the ‘Realm’.

 

 

“In Nigeria, there are hundreds of Judges upholding the sanctity of the judiciary. They not only give judgements but they deliver Justice. Nigerians still believe in them.

 

“But, because of conflicting and contradictory judgements coming from a few, the belief of many Nigerians in the judiciary is understandably shaken. And this is worrisome because if the people don’t believe in the Third Arm of Government anymore, anarchy looms.

 

“Today, many Nigerians point to some corrupt judges who escape unscathed to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth because the system is weak or compromised to do proper investigation.

 

“We now have a situation in which courageous judges who refuse to do the biddings of ‘powers that be’ are accused of being corrupt and forced to resign. What an irony!

 

“In many political cases, millions of people believe, and rightly so, that some judges deliver Judgements, NOT Justice.”

 

The elders then wondered, “So, the questions being asked today are, among others: ‘What exactly is the problem of the judiciary? Where did we get it wrong? Why is it difficult for the judiciary to assert its control over politicians and political parties? Why are technicalities being used to affirm electoral heists and in the process, undermine the will of the people and silence them? What is the meaning of a ‘typographical error’ when a judgement had already been delivered? Is it, according to some Nigerians, that the ‘real’ judgement was pushed aside and another read which has now led to a ‘typographical error’?”

 

The elders further said, “Sadly, some politicians now use the court as a shield and the highest political bidders are recklessly granted favourable orders.

 

“Obviously, the unholy dalliances between some politicians and judges is dangerous to our democracy.

 

“Millions of people will come out on the day of election, queue, collect ballot papers, cast their votes for their preferred candidates, results will be announced and everybody will jubilate only for three, five or seven judges to upturn the popular will of the people. What an affront?

 

“Pitiably, we now have a situation in which politicians who did not participate in party primaries are affirmed by the judiciary as the candidates because of ‘technicalities’.

 

“That is why Nigerians strongly believe that some members of the Executive suppress and intimidate Judges, just to get favourable judgements.

 

“Electoral verdict should be the sole responsibility of the electorate but it has now been turned upside down. It is now “government of the judiciary, by the judiciary, for the judiciary”.

 

“In our opinion, it is wrong to  remove the power of the electorate to elect political leaders and for  the Judiciary to tell us who the winners are.

 

“This is not good for the polity. This is not good for Nigeria. This is not good for our electoral system. A compromised judiciary is dangerous. Something urgent must be done to stop this malady.”

 

The elders noted that “Any pronouncement from our courts must be infallible. But, when people begin to question the judgement of a particular court, it shows that there is crisis in the polity. And this is totally unacceptable in Nigeria of 2023.”