Attacks on Judges
By Reuben Abati

GOVERNANCE has gone awry, and there isn't a more compelling evidence of this than the growing phenomenon of blatant attacks - political, psychological and physical - on our judges, which in every instance amounts to a violation of the sovereignty of the courts as articulated in Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution. The usual deference that is paid to judges is being eroded; the fate of judicial independence hangs in the balance. Those who attack judges and the courts are in the long run, challenging the freedoms of all Nigerians and the fundamental basis of our democracy. This is more so because the judiciary in the past eight years has acquitted itself honourably as the most robust of our constitutional institutions. Mob attacks on the courts such as we are now witnessing erodes the confidence of the community in the judiciary and may lead to the emergence of supine judges. The judges suffer double jeopardy: often, they cannot answer back, nor can they recruit their own thugs, to take up issues physically with the thugs that have now invaded the open court.

Four quick examples, each one of them instructive and condemnable in equal measure, would convey the seriousness of the problem that we seek to describe. One, in February, the detained leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Mujahiddin Asari Dokubo who is standing trial for treason at the Federal High Court in Abuja, decided to vent his spleen on the presiding judge in his case, Justice Peter Olayiwola whom he tongue-lashed, abused, and openly intimidated. He told the judge: "This is an evil court; this is a judge from the bottom of hell fire. I will come after you, and I will bring you to your knees. I will destroy you. You think Obasanjo can save you when he could not save the expatriates in the Niger Delta. You will see, I know where you live. I know where your family lives." Asari Dokubo further told the judge: "You are an idiot, a very stupid old man. We must not continue this trial before this judge." If ever there was a price for the worst form of contempt in the face of the court, this should be the winner.

Two, at a Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu over an election petition case, not too long ago, the Justices had to flee when a litigant and his supporters threatened to assault them. Their Lordships were left with no other option. Three, this week, (Tuesday, March 20), a Chief Magistrate in Gombe state was not so lucky. Mr. Joseph Garba Shinga was hearing a case involving a former Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Abubakar Habiu Hashidu, who had been accused of inciting his supporters to engage in violent acts which resulted in the destruction of public property. When Mr. Shinga issued an order to remand Alhaji Hashidu in prison custody, his supporters who were in the court premises became wild. They rushed into the courtroom with weapons and inflicted injuries on the Magistrate and his security guards. Mr. Shinga sustained deep cuts on his forehead. Hashidu's supporters have also issued a statement daring the police to re-arrest Hashidu, or any magistrate, judge, or whoever to pretend to try him.

If this sounds somewhat bizarre, then consider the fourth example in which the star actor is a serving Minister of the Federal Republic. The Federal High Court, Abuja, which had charged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Malam Mohammed Al Hassan, for contempt is facing greater contempt and a threat to its very existence. Both El-Rufai and Al-Hassan had ignored the court; but an angry Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi tried to protect the sovereignty of the judiciary, insisting that the Inspector-General of Police must produce El-Rufai and Al-Hassan by all means. But what did he get in response? This week, officials of the FCDA pasted a demolition notice on the court building, making it an illegal structure: "You are hereby ordered to vacate this site you are illegally occupying/developing and report to Development Control Department at No.1 Asamara Street, Zone 6, Wuse District, Abuja. Failure to comply will lead to demolition of your structure and legal action will be taken against you. To avoid embarrassment please comply." The court was in session while FCDA officials were busy pasting this Quit Notice. Nothing could be more farcical or mischievous.

Each of these four examples illustrates the plight of the judiciary in our land. We are in the middle of a political season, with many cases being taken to the courts for determination. Judges have no other job but the protection of the rule of law, but they are up against the mischief of both government and litigants. In the first example, Asari Dokubo brazenly intimidated the judge. Calling a judge "an idiot" and "a very stupid old man" in his own court is preposterous. In the second example, their Lordships had to weigh the situation carefully before taking to their heels. The third example is anarchic. It is a complete assault on the sanctity of the court-room; the dictatorship of the mob in the face of the court. The fourth example is most unfortunate. It is an ugly specimen of executive recklessness. Here, to avoid appearing before a court of law, the Minister of the FCT invoked his own executive powers and would rather demolish the court. Both the Federal High Court and the FCDA are federal institutions. Even if the Federal High Court is operating in the wrong section of the city, the timing of El-Rufai's threat of demolition is suspicious. Why now when he is being charged for contempt?

This is a pity because Mallam El-Rufai is a second-year student of law, and a very brilliant fellow. What are his law Professors teaching him! The least that can be said is that his conduct in this matter merely confirms the ruling government's discomfort with the judiciary. In recent times, Federal officials have been disdainful of the Federal High Court in Abuja where the Federal Government has lost too many cases, especially those involving the Vice President, Atiku Abubakar. If Minister El-Rufai would rather demolish the Federal High Court, he must be told that contempt in the face or away from the court, is unbefitting, even of a lawyer in equity and an aspiring officer in the temple of justice. In the third and fourth examples above, we confront an aspect of the Nigerian society that is most disturbing: what is otherwise known as "the big man syndrome" - the thinking that "a big man" is above the rule of law. No man at all, not Hasidu, not El-Rufai, not Al-Hassan, should be above the laws of the land.

Attacks on judges are not necessarily a novel phenomenon. These have happened before now in our land and there are examples from other jurisdictions as well. Judges are routinely accused of bias or partisanship and there have been complaints in the Commonwealth and elsewhere about corrupt and feral judges. Judges are human beings. They live within our communities. They may also be overwhelmed by prevailing circumstances. They can make mistakes. When their rulings are subjected to rigorous debate or scholarly review, as is the case in academic journals, they are compelled to take their assignments more seriously. But when disagreements with judges take the form of verbal or physical assault, when judges suffer this humiliation for performing no more than their official duty, then all reasonable members of the community must worry about the survival of not just the judiciary, but all our Constitutional institutions. When the courts are demeaned, the alternative is anarchy, and the reign of violence.

The reasons for and methods of attack on judges are varied; the resort to self-help is the most reprehensible of them all. In Brown v Board of Education (1954), the Warren Court in the United States had taken the rather radical decision, at the time, of desegregating public schools in the Southern states of America. Many white citizens and politicians opposed this and they threatened the presiding judge. Justice Hugo Black received hate mail; he had to wear bullet-proof vests; he became more or less, a persona non grata in the State of Alabama. As recently as 2005 in the United States, a judge was murdered in the courtroom in the state of Georgia.

In another case, the husband of Judge Joan Lefkow, and her mother, were murdered by an aggrieved plaintiff in a medical malpractice suit. In yet another example, a man standing trial for rape grabbed a weapon, and killed four persons including the judge presiding over his case. There have been cases of judges being kidnapped, or verbally assaulted, compelling the United States to design protection programmes for Federal judges. Former US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor found cause in retirement to speak up for the independence of the judiciary. She once cited the following example: "Every member of the Supreme Court received a wonderful package of home-baked cookies and I don't know why; the staff decided to analyze them. Each one contained enough poison to kill the entire membership of the Court."

The fate of judges is worse under a totalitarian government. Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammad Uwais once had to grant an interview to defend his integrity. In the Bola Ige murder case, three judges had to withdraw citing threat to their lives and harrassment. Under the military, judges were retired or removed from office for refusing to obey the dictates of the ruling junta. Nigerian politicians generally display a hypocritical attitude towards the courts. They pretend to be interested in the rule of law, but they expect judges to do their bidding. The current adoption of self-help as a means of interaction with the courts of law can be traced to this hypocrisy, especially at the highest levels of government. The Obasanjo government has a terrible record in this regard; it chooses which court rulings are convenient for it to obey, but for the most part, it has treated the Courts with askance. This diminution of the authority of the Courts conveys the impression to the rest of the community that indeed the Courts can be discounted, and that every man could do as he wishes. Hence, we have witnessed such scenarios as the sacking of the Anambra state government under Ngige, a crime for which no one has been punished till date; brigandage in Oyo state by Lamidi Adedibu's supporters; the daylight murder of Samuel, a 10-year old boy, in Lagos; and the cold-blooded murder of a school teacher - Oluwatoyin Olusesan, two days ago, by her own students - Muslim pupils - in a secondary school in Gombe. This last example is galling.

The need for the protection of the rule of law is self-evident. It is the duty of judges to interpret and protect the law. The court-room, their work-place, should be a hallowed space, where reason defeats emotion. Disobedience of court orders and physical attacks on judges or their intimidation by authority figures, are all unconscionable attempts to reduce the scope of the courts' exercise of authority. We must note this: the decision of the Courts needs not conform to public opinion. When judges have to read the mood of the courtroom before giving rulings, then society is finished. Good governance is important. The judiciary exists as an expression of the doctrine of the separation of powers which is a hallmark of our Constitutional democracy. Attempts by the Executive to intimidate the judiciary with demolition orders, quit notices, and removal from office must be condemned.

{mosgoogle}The independence of the judiciary is a pre-requisite for social order and stability. Public education is also necessary. Most Nigerians do not understand the value of the Courts. They see a court of law as a place where lawyers waste time over arguments, and a criminal with a good lawyer can escape unpunished. Jungle justice thus appears more effective and self-help a quicker route to conflict resolution. Most of the cases of human rights violation in Nigeria result from this spread of self-help. There is need, if I may add, for strong security measures for the protection of judges and the courts, especially in a season such as this. But judges themselves must be careful. They must be seen, like Caesar's wife, to be above board, always.

Robot  # 1 | 23.03.2007 01:14

The independence of the judiciary is a pre-requisite for social order and stability. ...Read the full article.