Lagos — Justice Bolajoko Adeniji was recently sworn-in as the first female Chief Judge of the pace setter state by the state Governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala following the approval of the National Judicial Commission (NJC) and the state legislature. TUNDE SANNI recalls the long road to a substantive CJ in Oyo State

By the time Justice Bolajoko Adeniji was named and sworn in as yet another Acting Chief Judge in Oyo State not many believed that the state had reached the end in the appointments of Chief Judges in acting capacity. At the last count, Adeniji would be the fourth Acting Chief Judge in the state within five years. It was not that the state lacked the political will to have a substantive chief judicial officer but a legal action by a former Chief Judge, Justice Isaiah Olakanmi which included a prayer that no substantive Chief Judge should be appointed until after the determination of his suit which he brought to challenge his removal from office incapacitated the government. Like an old barber chair, the state has remained motionless for those number of years without a substantive leadership at the third arm of government. The arm became a tool for political actions and inactions from successive political chieftains in the state.

Adeniji stepped into the recycled coveted office on September 25, 2008 following her oath as the Acting CJ of the state and while all permutations favoured another search for an Acting Chief Judge, the state government, following the dismissal of Olakanmi's suit by the Federal High Court forwarded Adeniji's name to the NJC for recommendation as the substantive CJ for the state which the Judicial Commission never hesitated in sealing.

Olakanmi has entered into troubled waters, along with the then Chief Registrar of the state High Court, Mrs. Gloria Akinmade in 2004 when 22 out of the 24 judges in the state Bench had written and signed a protest letter complaining of his official high handedness and alleged corrupt practices. The protest letter was sent to the then state Governor, Rasidi Ladoja who raised a judicial panel which in turn passed a guilt verdict on him and the former Registrar. He ordered the duo to refund some amount of money to the government coffers while the panel recommended the removal of the two principal judicial officers. Ladoja upheld the recommendation of the judicial panel and forwarded the decision to the lawmakers who also approved of the recommendation and removed the two officers from office on October 24, 2004. However, while Akinmade took the guilt verdict in its stride, Olakanmi like a learned man decided to contest the decision and filed a suit first before a state High Court which struck out the suit due to lack of jurisdiction.

The government on account of the sack appointed Justice Afolabi Adeniran who was the next in rank to the embattled judicial chief in acting capacity. The new Acting Chief Judge was in the saddle during the Ladoja controversial political dark days, which ultimately led to his impeachment on January 12, 2006.

Adeniran's lawyers argued and sought a stay in the impeachment processes initiated by the factional members of the state assembly. The action showed Adeniran in bad light and it was not unexpected when members of his constituency rose up in arms against him when he returned to the same office almost a year after.

From Adeniran, the Acting Chief Judge's baton was passed to Justice Olagoke Ige and had rotated between the duo until August 14, 2007, when Olakanmi was re-appointed as the substantive Chief Judge following the retirement of Adeniran on August 20, 2007. The re-appointment of Olakanmi came at a time Ige too was awaiting his re-appointment and confirmation as the new Acting CJ being the most senior judge on the Bench. The resuscitation of Olakanmi's tenure thus shut the door against Ige. The state government in recalling the embattled CJ had to wait for a resolution of the state House of Assembly. The former CJ, it was revealed, had written the state assembly pleading for the revalidation of his sack by the Ladoja government and promising to withdraw the suit he instituted against the removal from the court. The assembly in its resolution of August 13, 2007, had stated, 'The purported removal of Justice Isaiah Olujide Olakanmi be quashed. The decision of the former governor and the then house should be declared null and void and he should be reinstated with full benefit on the account that the removal was not supported by NJC and hence was improper, unconstitutional and a clear case of injustice.'

On the strength of the assembly's motion, Olakanmi was reinstated as the substantive CJ in the state on August 14, 2007 into a tempestuous era. Incidentally, the re-appointment of the embattled CJ coincided with the suspension order clamped on the Chief Registrar of the state high court; Mrs. Yinka Olatunji. The appointing government had to contend with wars from all divides; the NJC, the NBA and the civil society who all faulted the process of amnesty for Olakanmi and insisted that he be sacked again. It was learnt at the period that the government's cold stance on the recalling of the embattled jurist melted following the backing of the late Ibadan political kingmaker and political godfather of the sitting government, Lamidi Adedibu who reportedly directed the government to ignore the NJC as he alleged that Olakanmi was just being made a victim of a scripted power play.

Close friends and associates of the judge, sources hinted at the time, warned him against his return to the exalted seat having been humiliated out by the defunct government but the judge appeared emboldened with the support of eminent lawyers who continued to assure him and the government to get the NJC to accept him and have the sanction lifted for a clean bill of health.

So, when the battles started raging, there was nowhere the judge could run to for succour. The NJC from the onset, never supported the recall of the CJ by the Akala government and instantly refused to honour him by the non payment of his salaries and other official perks which bill was picked up by the government.

The government rose to the defence of Olakanmi's recall which the Special Adviser on Public Communications, Dotun Oyelade said was done to halt the embarrassing appointment of three acting judges in a row which necessitated the re-appointment of the CJ which though was subjudice was still substantive. Oyelade hinted that the case file of Olakanmi had been forwarded to NJC, "making it clear that government will take judicial notice of the recommendation of the Council. We stand by that but when the NJC insisted that Olakanmi should be removed for the most senior judge to mount the saddle even in acting capacity, the government discountenanced.'

Correspondences were reportedly exchanged between the judicial commission and the state government, which pleaded for the CJ while the commission insisted that since Olakanmi initiated a legal process for a judicial review of his dismissal, the government should wait for the conclusion of the legal process before re-appointing him and vowed never to accord him any respect befitting of a judge in the employ of the NJC. While NJC refrained from paying the salary and other emoluments of the new CJ, the state government was picking the bills while the continued payment of the salary and benefits were parts of the agreement to give the embattled CJ a soft landing.

The local NBA described his recall as inappropriate, prayed for the setting aside of such legislative order or in the alternative contend with lawyers' indefinite boycott of the returnee CJ's court. Aside from the Bar that was not disposed to his reinstatement, his constituency, the Bench saw his recall as a slap on them because some of them who participated in the petitions that led to his removal in 2004 were still around and feared that the CJ could extract his own pound of flesh. In unison, the judges joined the anti-Olakanmi bandwagon as they shunned the church service and the ceremonial inspection of guards of honour and parade by the CJ during the celebration of the legal year in 2008. The ding dong affair over the Olakanmi return to the judiciary continued till July 2005 when the state government decided to bow to the wishes of the NJC and had Olakanmi sent on terminal leave for Justice Afolabi Adeniran, to assume the Acting Chief Judge position office on July 7, 2005. After initial prevarications to the NJC, the state government through a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Olayiwola Olakojo and addressed to Olakanmi conveyed to him the government's directive to proceed on compulsory leave pending the determination of his case.

In addition, the Special Adviser on Public Communication, Dotun Oyelade, clarified that the government delayed on acting on Olakanmi to enable the government hear a comprehensive briefing from the NJC before taking a decision on him. 'The government stayed this long because of the need for a comprehensive briefing from NJC and the intercourse of correspondences between the two parties; that is government and NJC have been most productive.' 'Now that Hon Justice Lakanmi has gone to court to challenge his removal, government felt quite obliged to disengage from the issue entirely and leave it in the hands of the court, the NJC and the respondent.'

The government said that by sending the CJ on compulsory leave, 'government feels no encumbrance in the way of justice even as we await the court ruling, adding that the essential thing was that the course of justice should manifest and that justice preceded any other consideration.

The return of Afolabi was also marked with controversy, as the local NBA stood up in arms over his alleged partisanship in the handling of some state government suits. It was even alleged that Afolabi was restored to office to ensure a judicial clean bill for Akala who was battling to quash his indictment by the five-man administrative panel by his former boss, Rasidi Ladoja and over which four opposition parties had gone to the tribunal for the upturning of his election on the ground that he was not competent to stand for the election due to the indictment.

Though he retired voluntarily from the Bench, the NJC 'judgment' on his alleged partisanship was seen by many as a low score.

Lawyers and followers of judiciary politics however insisted that the government was merely being economical with the truth as Olatunji was being sanctioned for allegedly cooperating with a three-man team raised by the NJC to look into allegations of professional misconduct leveled against Adeniran by the local NBA.

On Afolabi's retirement, Ige was re-introduced as the Acting CJ and he had continued in that office until his voluntary retirement last year August for Adeniji, the first woman to step as the acting Chief Judge of the state. Her appointment followed the traditional procedure of the state government recommendation to the National Judicial Commission (NJC) to the state legislatures for approval. On the confirmation of her appointment from the acting capacity to the substantive capacity, the state government a fortnight ago swore her in as the first female Chief Judge in the history of the state.

At the ceremony which coincided with the presentation of 22 Prado Jeeps to the judges in the state, the state Governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala stressed the need for the new chief judicial officer to carry along his brother judges in the administration of justice in the state and reminded the executive and legislative arms of gov0ernment of an independent judiciary for the success of the anti-corruption war. He urged Adeniji to shun corruption in any form while placing high premium on probity and accountability in the discharge of her duty.

"Oyo State and indeed Nigeria will be very proud of you if you can maintain your high sense of responsibility and shun corruption in your new assignment because the fight against corruption in this nation would be fruitless without the cooperation of the judiciary.

"On the part of my administration, I am determined to ensure the continued independence of the judiciary since the dividends of democracy, rule of law and justice can only be enjoyed in an atmosphere where the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed".

The governor added that his administration was committed to ensuring the comfort of the state judiciary, urging the three tiers of government in state to work together for the peace and progress of the state.

Even with the Jeeps, the governor promised to provide the judges with 'automated equipment for recording of proceedings' in due course. While handing the Jeeps to the CJ, he said, "I am sure when they arrive their courts or chambers in these Prado jeeps, they would feel comfortable. When they have that kind of conducive atmosphere, they would be able to think straight and also judge very well. Just about two months ago, we gave our magistrates cars and we said that if we can do that to our magistrates, we can do that to our judges.

He explained the reason for the delay in the provision of the automated machine for the judges for bad interpretations that may be adduced to it by the people of the state. "As a matter of fact, we should have done that earlier but you know the way we think in Nigeria, we are very gullible. People can read meaning to it. They read meaning into whatever we do in this country. But today, we are here without currying favour from anybody. The judiciary may be thinking that the executive and the legislature are enjoying, they too should enjoy.

Adeniji expressed the appreciation of the judiciary to the government gesture, promising quick dispensation of justice based of fairness and rule of law in the state.

The Prado Jeeps, she stated, would make judges in the state to tower among their peers in other states. The same government has promised to provide electronic gadgets in our courts. So, we won't write with our hands anymore. All these are unique. On behalf of all judges in Oyo State, from the gardener to the CJ, we say a big thank you."