Jude Igbanoi
12 May 2008
Lagos — Recent developments in the Oyo State Judiciary have raised concerns across the entire Nigerian Bar. The National Judicial Council has made very strong pronouncements on the lingering crisis. Now the Nigerian Bar Association, Ibadan Branch has actually demanded the arrest of the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Isaiah Olakanmi. Would you subscribe to such move?
Undoubtedly, I support the decision of the Ibadan Branch of the NBA to request for the arrest of the former Chief Judge of Oyo State. Certainly he is no longer a judge.
Based on the pronouncement of the National Judicial Council?
Not just the NJC pronouncement. That is where people are getting the whole thing wrong. The House of Assembly by the address to the Governor, when Ladoja was still the Governor and Akala was Deputy Governor, under provisions of the Constitution, had removed the gentleman. He is no longer a judicial officer!
The only reason NJC came into this matter is that NJC made it point clear that except that resolution of the House on which the Governor acted on is reversed by a court of law, he ceases to be a judicial officer. That is what the NJC said, that they won't recognise him as a judicial officer. If the Governor now comes and says a new House has revisited the matter, do they have such powers under the Constitution? They don't! The only power they have is to recommend dismissal. They don't have the power to revisit it; but unfortunately for him, there is no way a new Assembly can reverse the decision of the older one. That is what many people do not know.
You have to study and understand the rules of the various legislative houses. What the new house did was ultra vires their powers. They don't have such powers. Such a decision can only be reversed through judicial means. If there is a judicial pronouncement that says the Governor acted in error or the House did not do what they were supposed to do then the matter can be revisited. It's just like impeachment. It's only the court that can say it is wrongful and illegal.
If a court of competent jurisdiction decides that the House was wrong in recommending Olakanmi for removal, then the NJC or NBA would not interfere with it. There is nothing wrong in his coming back for as long as it is a pronouncement of court. The scenario you have just painted is very complex. As of last week Olakanmi was still sitting and adjudicating on cases before him as if nothing had happened. How would you reconcile that with what you've just said?
It is true. All he is doing is illegal. That is why we in Ibadan Branch felt that we should look at our criminal law. If anybody purports to sit as a Judge when he is not a judicial officer, it is a crime under the Oyo State Criminal Law. That is why we have called on the police to arrest the man and prosecute him! He is not a judicial officer!
He is now putting litigants and other lawyers under some stress. There is no judgment you'll get from his court that you can sustain. It would all be a nullity!
What do you have to say about lawyers who appear before him despite the NJC sanction?
It is unfortunate. A number of lawyers are also under pressure. I also don't see why they should succumb to such pressure. Even then, such lawyers are few and far between. Most lawyers don't attend that court. A few lawyers may have gone to his court prior to the NJC publication in the papers. It's the first time that kind of thing would happen. The facts of the case were being distorted. The Oyo State Government was selling lies to the public, so there was no way the NJC would not have come out to publish a paid advert in the pages of newspapers to explain their own position. The few lawyers who went there initially believed the lies of the Oyo State Government. The Oyo State Government was saying, 'It is not true. The NJC has not written to us.' But the NJC has come out to state the facts, point by point, in the newspapers. I don't expect any other lawyer to go there. The NJC has said very clearly that the man is not a judicial officer. It's like me going before somebody who is not a lawyer and say I am pleading my case. You are wasting your time! Whatever you get there would all be a nullity. You cannot enforce such a judgment.
The NJC hammer also fell on another Judge, Justice Iyabo Yerima; what would be her fate given this complex scenario?
Yerima's case is an unfortunate development. I recollect very well in one of the Judges' conferences recently, the Chief Justice of Nigeria made that point very clearly, that a number of our Governors today do not want to respect the decisions of NJC. It's an unfortunate development because the Constitution vests in the NJC, the power of discipline. There is no discretion in the powers of a Governor to refuse discipline of the Judges. Once the NJC makes a pronouncement in respect of a judicial officer, the Governor has no discretion. Its only when a Chief Judge is involved that the matter is referred to the House of Assembly. The law is very clear. In respect of Iyabo Yerima, the NJC took a decision, but the Governor refused to act. So, the NJC said, 'well, since the Governor has refused to act, we the NJC have pronounced you retired.'
But luckily for Yerima, she has gone to court. What she did was the right thing. You can challenge the NJC's decision in court and if you win then you can come back. But Yerima is no longer sitting. All she does is to go to her court, sit in her chambers and at the end of the day, she gets paid. The government can waste its funds that way.
Lawyers and watchers from outside Oyo State have expressed surprise over the lackadaisical attitude of the Attorney-General of Oyo State over this whole crisis. What is your take on this?
I just want to say that the Attorney-General, M.F. Lana, I must say that I expected more from him. I don't know what is happening to some of us in this profession now. I believe that Attorneys-General must have the courage to tell their Governors the position of the law. I want to believe that Lana has told his Governor; although my observation is that he as Attorney-General has not been talking about this matter. It has been one Mr. Oyelade who claims to be Media Assistant to the Governor who has been responding and making the challenge.
If it the AG had come out to respond to the JNC, maybe one could have taken him up. But in fairness to him we have not heard anything from him. He has a duty however to properly advise the Governor. I really don't know the circumstances in which he has found himself. If he wants to be true to himself let him be heard on record. This is because posterity will judge him. Let it be on record that this is what he said. That he advised the government accordingly. Right now, we don't know his position on this matter.
All eyes are now on the Oyo Judiciary. The observation has been made that if the crisis is not properly managed it may set a bad precedent and the Bench in other states may consequently be politicised. What is the way out of this logjam in Oyo State? It doesn't look healthy for the Judiciary that there is no sitting Chief Judge in the state.
Certainly there is no CJ in Oyo State. Your fears are well founded. If this matter is not properly handled it will create a bad precedent. If we are not careful it will whittle down the disciplinary powers of the NJC. These powers are enshrined in the Constitution. The Governors are making a mistake. At the end of the day, it is the same NJC that would approve any recommendation made by the Governors in the appointment of Judges. They have a specific role to play. The Governors must be true to their oath of office, to uphold the Constitution.
The rascality we have in Oyo State now should be condemned by everybody. The Governor must not meddle in this judicial impasse. Why must the Governors insist on a particular person as Chief Judge? What particular purpose will it serve? How many cases does the Oyo State government have in court? It is better for the government not to get enmeshed in this problem. I expect Akala to be true to his oath of office by respecting the decison of the NJC.
It is because of Akala's rascality that the NBA is now ready to give bite to the decision of the NJC. The NJC must not be made to look like a toothless bulldog. They have done their best in the circumstances. They have stooped paying the salaries on these Judges involved and they no longer recognise them as judicial officers. Olakanmi for instance who is parading himself as CJ does not leave the confines of Oyo State. He is not allowed to attend any meetings. He is not allowed to be part of the Body of Benchers. All statutory meetings that Chief Judges attend he doesn't attend. He cannot even sign Law School forms as a Bencher for law students! What else is the NJC supposed to do? So, it now behoves on the Bar to give bite to all these, so that nobody will think the NJC is only a toothless bulldog.
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