A retired Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Buba, has said that Nigeria’s political class and not the judiciary is responsible for the prevailing state of impunity in virtually all the sectors of the country.
He warned that until the political class, which constitutes the executive arm of government, begins to obey court orders, good governance would continue to elude the country while democracy would continue to be endangered.
Justice Buba spoke in Abuja at a one-day workshop on Judicial Accountability, organised by TAP Initiative in conjunction with Open Society Foundation (OSF).
The jurist said that although the judiciary, amongst other arms of government, has the strictest forms of regulations as well as qualification, the failure by politicians to respect the country’s Constitution and their own rules would not make Nigeria a better society.
In his keynote address titled, ‘Impact of Judicial Accountability on Public Trust in the Legal’, the retired judge declared that if politicians played by the rules, a lot of political cases would not reach the courts in the first instance.
“The Nigerian judiciary, undoubtedly, is being overworked by politicians to sustain our democracy. It is very easy for an outsider not to see the “cow” on the head of the politician and political class, to quickly see the “lice” on the head of the judiciary.
“No amount of judicial activism by the judges can better a society if the political class is not willing to play by the rules of the game, according to the constitution of their parties enacted by them.
“Obedience to court orders is sine qua non to order and good governance. If judgments of courts and court orders go forth without respect and come back without effect, society and by extension democracy will be endangered,” he said.
While arguing that never in the history of Nigeria are the courts so inundated with pre-election matters and election petitions, as under the current dispensations, the former jurist submitted that the Nigerian judiciary has given a very good account of itself.
According to him, the judiciary, despite all odds, has to work with incompetent, poorly paid support staff whose trust cannot be guaranteed, adding that judgments can be leaked to the press before being delivered.
A judge, he stressed, is a product of the Nigerian society and not from the moon, who is still struggling to hold the balance evenly.
“Nigerian judges are very courageous, they have dared the military, they have dared the political class, like every society, they have also dealt even with their colleagues who are found wanting,” he declared.
The Executive Director of TAP Initiative, Mr Martins Obono earlier in a welcome address, stated that the workshop was aimed at enhancing public trust and confidence in the judiciary.
He, however, lamented that judicial officers should not shy away from accountability and canvassed for a change of heart.
