What is now clear in words and in deed is that Nigeria is among the most lawless nation on earth and the Buhari administration may just have lowered the bar for executive lawlessness with the assault against the judiciary arm of government after last Friday’s invasion of the home of supreme court Justice Mary Odili in Abuja; in what the apex court described as “an impunity taken too far.” This brigandage by security agents which portends grave danger for Nigeria as an ignominious and reprehensible assault on the judiciary and, by extension, the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win. It is a mindless, shameful, embarrassing and unacceptable circumvention of the constitution that the judiciary could be so brazenly attacked in a supposedly democratic dispensation. More so, as Buhari has maintained a deafening silence, even as the police, EFCC and the Attorney General of the Federation are falling over each other in their frantic efforts to deny any involvement in the assault. This unmistakable act of imbecility is a national disgrace that stands the rule of law on its head; the impropriety is simply mind-boggling and inexcusable; it is pathetic, disgraceful and devoid of any perfunctory exaggeration. All level headed Nigerians must feel a sense of shame and outrage by this contrived humiliation of the next in line to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), who incarnates the judiciary as a state institution. This blight on the toga of Nigeria’s battered international image betrays a country with highly dysfunctional institutions where bizarre things can happen. President Buhari should not just watch the unfolding drama but must strongly condemn it; and offer Nigerians a full apology for the national embarrassment.
Security operatives claiming to be investigating alleged illegal activities invaded the residence of Justice Odili, triggering a hailstorm of condemnation. The police, EFCC and AGF have all denied involvement. Even the Magistrate who signed the warrant upon which the said panel under the AGF acted to search Justice Odili’s home has claimed he was misled and subsequently revoked the search warrant. It is just as well that the apex court, warned in a statement by its Director of Information, Dr. Festus Akande, that the judiciary branch of government “cannot only bark, but can also bite.” The statement said: “We are alarmed with the news of the unwarranted and despicable raid on the official residence of one of our senior justices in the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Mary Peter Odili on Friday October 29, 2021 in a Gestapo manner… We are deeply saddened and taken aback by this uncivilized and shameful show of primitive force…We wish to make it abundantly clear that the Nigerian Judiciary is the third arm of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and should be respected and treated as such. We have had a full dosage of this fusillade of unwarranted and unprovoked attacks on our judicial officers and even facilities across the country and we say it loudly now that enough is enough”
The shocking assault on Justice Odili’s home, and the reasons advanced to justify the dastardly act are unacceptable. The denial of official complicity by the police, EFCC and the AGF, given after public outcry, are merely face-saving. The bizarre claim by the magistrate, that he was misled into acting ultravires, seems expedient, as it mocks Nigeria and all her pretense to be a country governed by the rule of law. To begin with, it stretches credulity that the AGF will not be in the loop on such a sensitive and high-profile case involving a Justice of the Supreme Court. Assuming arguendo that the police, EFCC and AGF were not aware; who requested the warrant; and on whose authority was that person acting to the extent that he misled the magistrate to issue the search warrant? Has the officer been reprimanded?
Besides, the action was a clear violation of due process. The dissonance from officialdom marks another phase in the relentless persecution of the Judiciary by the Buhari administration, and begs the question: how does this promote the public interest and benefit the nation? It is just as well that a chorus of dissenting voices has joined in condemnation of what is an act of judicial brigandage and a witch-hunt orchestrated against the leadership of the judiciary. It is farcical that an alleged criminal act involving a sitting Supreme Court Justice should be handled in such a cavalier manner, in utter violation of extant rules and the constitution of the federal republic, and the fact that the AGF has not called out the perpetrators besides his tepid and unconvincing denial of complicity, demonstrates a desperate overreach by the administration to emasculate and reduce the judiciary as an uncircumcised appendage of the executive branch of government.
In point of fact and law, the raid of Justice Odili’s home is an assault on the rule of law as it is illegal. Section 36 of the constitution confers on accused persons the rights of fair hearing and presumption of innocence until proven guilty. It should however be noted that the National Judicial Council (NJC) was established by Section 153 (1) & (2) of the 1999 constitution to do just that. Paragraph 20 (b), Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule, states: the NJC shall “exercise disciplinary control over” all judicial officers, including the justices of the apex court. Thus, the NJC has exclusive jurisdiction over all judicial officers, including the CJN. The NJC being a quasi-judicial organ established by the constitution, it is the appropriate forum to first raise any matter against any judicial officer. The precedent here is the decision of the Court of Appeal; in Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) that; no criminal charge can be laid against a judicial officer in any court of law, without first filing such a complaint before the NJC.
Under and by virtue of Section 287 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, the decisions of the Court of Appeal shall be enforced in any part of the federation by all authorities and persons and by courts with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Court of Appeal. The security agents and the Magistrate are subordinate entities to the Court of Appeal and are bound to enforce, apply and obey the decision of the Court of Appeal in Nganjiwa v FRN. It therefore stands to reason that the search warrant against Justice Odili was illegal, unconstitutional and null and void. The Magistrate and security agencies ought to be aware of extant decisions of the Court of Appeal in Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria, to the effect that unless and until the NJC pronounces a judicial officer guilty, he cannot be arraigned in court. Those authorities know fully well that you cannot constitutionally apply a search warrant against a sitting Justice of the Supreme Court without the NJC approval; but they decided to humiliate Justice Odili, in violation of the constitution.
The point must be made, that although the Justices do not enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution, the move by the assault on Justice Odili is dangerously tendentious. Despite the tepid denials, Nigerians are not fooled. This is an obvious attempt to gag and hector the judiciary into submission. Obviously, the last is yet to be heard in this unfolding tragic-comedy of errors. If anything, the unconvincing denial of official complicity raises fundamental questions over the constitutionality of the action and reinforced public perception of Buhari’s dictatorial recidivism; which has brought opprobrium upon the apex court, and by extrapolation, the entire nation, thereby aggravating the national shame.
Whatever the motives, the action and the reasons advanced to justify this executive lawlessness, is totally unacceptable as it violated the sagely candor and venerated image of the judiciary as a respectable arm of government. Nigeria has had enough of lamentations. This latest infringement on the rule of law offends the sensibilities of Nigerians and should never again happen. This kind of impunity is a huge disservice to Nigeria that must not go unpunished as it sets a very dangerous precedent. The rule of law is essential for order and stability and is one of the canons of liberal democracy. The observance of the rule of law nudges the polity away from authoritarian trappings. More importantly, it enhances democratic consolidation. It bears emphasizing that democracy and its institutions are strengthened if the rule of law is observed by custodians of state institutions. The executive must be diligent and the judiciary, as the gut of democracy, must exercise its independence for the good of the country.
Either way, the brigandage on the home of Justice Odili is a sad commentary on due process in Nigeria that puts the Buhari administration in odium and disrepute, in addition to being the shame of a nation. It is also a pity that well-meaning Nigerians merely watch in bewilderment this egregious assault on the judiciary, forgetting that the price they pay for this is good governance. What times like this require are virile civil society organizations, a dynamic citizenry, a vocal populace and a Nigerian Bar Association that is bold enough to decry this audacious abuse of state authority and power. Nigerians cannot afford to be guilty of conspiracy of silence, mute indifference and cold complicity which their silence would suggest should they continue to ignore these humongous travesties of justice without a modicum of decorous protest. This is where the National Assembly must come in to save its own reputation by calling out this executive lawlessness and assault on the judiciary. Whether or not he authorized the unwarranted assault on the judiciary; President Buhari bears responsibility for that irresponsible action, as the buck stops on his desk. And history will judge him harshly if he does not speak up against this assault and insist on it never happening again.