Encounter: Justice Umar Abdullahi

Encounter: Justice Umar Abdullahi

By Garba Deen Muhammad

former editor of Daily/Weekly Trust)

As a schoolboy growing up in Katsina, his ambition was to join the army, along with his two close friends and classmates in the persons of late General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd).

But by the usual uncontrollable twists and turns of destiny, Justice Umar Abdullahi, President of the Court of Appeal found himself instead following the path beaten by his parents and grand parents before him. When he attended the interview for a place to study law at the Institute of Administration Zaria, the late Abubakar Imam was among the panelist. Imam had asked Justice Abdullahi only one question: "So you want to carry on with the family work?" To which he replied "Yes". And that was it, his career in the judiciary was launched; in those days and times life and opportunities were that uncomplicated.

A few months ago I visited a childhood friend in Kastina, Dr. Mustafa Hamdana. In the course of our tête-à-tête with Mustafa and his friend Bashir, they mentioned something that sharply contradicted my prejudice. They counted Justice Umar Abdullahi as among the very few philanthropists and accessible seniors in Katsina. First I did not expect much philanthropy in Katsina, and if there was I'd hardly associate it with Justice Abdullahi. Don't ask me why; somehow I'd always perceived him as distant, cold blooded----you know. I told my friends so. They said I was wrong, and insisted that I must meet him to find out for myself. I was not enthusiastic about meeting him; partly because I wasn't too eager to change my preconceived notions about him and partly because from my little experience, judges are not interesting subjectsanyway.

 As a result the encounter with Justice Abdullahi took several months to happen. I finally met him four weeks ago, in the newly commissioned elegant headquarters of the Appellant Court located at the Three Arms Zone. The building itself has become part of the story of his eventful life: he fought for it, struggled to build it, got psychologically injured, frustrated and smeared in the process of bringing it to life. But now when I asked him what the greatest moment of his life is, he said without hesitation: "The day Mr. President (Yar'adua) came to commission this building".

Up close and personal, Justice Abdullahi is the quintessential Katsina man; he is slim in built, sharp, patient, courteous and (deceptively) mild-mannered. Studying him, I knew it would be futile to expect him to give away any scoop or leakage on the appeal cases pending at the various divisions of the Court of Appeal. Better to concentrate on the man behind the judge. Which was just as well, because for a man whose family at some point produced "80 per cent of the judges in Katsina", it was  inevitable that whatever he discusses, he would always wound up at the threshold of the judiciary.

For instance while explaining his close relationship with General Buhari and the late General Shehu Yar'adua who was the elder brother of President Umaru Yar'Adua, he explained that "Shehu and Buhari were very, very close; so close that they named their children after one another"; and that he was in turn close to both men. So in 2003 when he found himself presiding over an appeal case in which his childhood friend, Buhari, was a principal party, he asked to be allowed not to preside.

But lawyers to both parties to the case themselves asked him to stay, a silent endorsement that naturally went unsung. But when, in 2007 the situation even more personal, Justice Abdullahi knew there was no option for him but to stay out of it. There was no way, he felt, that he could sit over a case  between one close friend and the younger brother of another close friend; in this case the appeal case between Buhari of the ANPP and Yar'Adua of the PDP. "No

 matter how hard I tried some people are bound to say 'he shouldn't have' ".

But such caution has done little to take the heat off the Appeal Court President. With a lot of pain he recalled the saddest point of his career. It was in the heat of the 2003 legal battle for the presidency between former President Obasanjo and Buhari. Around the same period Justice Abdullahi was battling for the take-off of the headquarters of the Court of Appeal; struggling to overcome the many obstacles placed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku objected to the erection of the building because although it was part of the Abuja master plan, he felt it was too close to his official residence. When Obasanjo heard about Justice Abdullahi's dilemma, he asked his lawyer Chief Afe Babalola to find out what the problem was. Babalola knew that since the problem was coming from Atiku's office, only Obasanjo could counter it. So with his help Justice Abdullahi took the Abuja master plan, all the appeal court judges of the Abuja Division, the

 contractor and the architect and went to see Obasanjo.

"We saw him for less than ten minutes and he promised to assist. The next day there was newspaper headline that 'Obasanjo summoned Appeal Court Judges to be told what verdict to give. That was very painful and very embarrassing".

As it turned out that ten-minute meeting didn't actually help; it was the former FCT Minister Malam Nasir el-Rufai whom Abdullahi credited with single handedly ensuring the Court of Appeal got its plot and the building started.

This was partly the reason why the commissioning of the building matter so much to him: "If I retire today, I would consider this struggle to establish a befitting office complex for the Court of Appeal as one of my legacies."

His other legacies of course have to do with the fact that he felt he's served his country honorably against tremendous odds. But he admitted that it had been very difficult. But "I developed a thick skin; I refused to be distracted by nasty comments or insults. I always say 'let me do my best'. I'm serving my country and one day all this is going to be over. I've never contemplated resigning because I know I can do it; I've been doing it; at least I've been able to make my own contribution to the political development of my country".

That he has; only last week Justice Abdullahi gave statistical backing to a popular perception: that the 2007 general elections were the most problematic in the history of elections in Nigeria. They have generated more than a staggering 1,500 petitions across the country. Millions of Nigerians have tried, convicted or acquitted Justice Abdullahi several times over; according to their understanding of the cases that came to the courts of appeal; and sometimes according to our subjective interest in the outcome.

Eventually when the history of Nigeria's journey to a viable democracy is written, his name and tenure as the most challenged President of the Court of Appeal would feature prominently; and whenever there is a Professor Osunbor to castigate him, there will always be an Adams Ohiomhle to defend him. One couldn't try harder. More over as he explained it, the selection of judges to listen to cases on appeal is not an individual affair. "I rely

 heavily on the state chief judges to nominate candidates, then send the list to the local NBA before finally coming up with a panel"

One of Justice Abdullahi's fears now is that due to the harassment of judges by the media and politicians, very soon there won't be any judges agreeing to serve at the appeal court panels. Already he has had to reduce the number on the panels from five to three. And he blames the politicians for it. "They make our job very difficult. What bothers all the judges is that those politicians having decided to go to court, why can't they leave the judges to do their work; they go about asking for a judge's uncle, best friend etc."

But he exonerated Buhari. "In spite of our closeness, and meeting frequently at social occasions, Buhari has never raised the issue of his case at the appeal court; not once".

What about the Katsina myth? Why do they brawl at home and bond abroad. Because, he said, in Katsina the playground is too narrow; elsewhere there is enough room for everyone and cooperation is in everybody's self-interest.

I asked him how he relaxes, given the extreme stress that comes with his job. "I do exercise early morning after my prayers; I watch Discovery and National Geographic channels too". That's all? " No" he said; "when I am in the mood I also tune to channel '0' to hear music. Fortunately, even in Shariah states like his native Katsina, listening to music is not a criminal offence. At 65 and soon to be retiring, his lordship may also want to try MTV and TRACE; the music there is classier.

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