THE ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY IN

COMBATING CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

Being a Seminar Paper Presented By

Matthew Burkaa Esq

At the SERAP MEDIA ROUNDATABLE on

Magistrate Courts Ethics, integrity and

improving Citizens’ Access to Justice on

Tuesday 25th September 2012

At Westown Hotels

Ikeja, Lagos.

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INTRODUCTION

• The Judiciary is commonly and rightly referred to as the last hope

of the common man. This pre-supposes that it guarantees equal

access to Justice and equity and equally ensures that the rights of

citizens are adequately accommodated and judgments handed

down in accordance with the dictates of the law and facts

presented to the Court.

• The Judiciary can only act as the last hope of the common man

where it is independent, well funded, courageous, unbiased and

proactive.

• Regrettably, this enviable role has not been without some

accusing fingers being pointed at the hallowed temple of Justice.

A recent survey by the Economic and Financial Crimes

Commission and National Bureau for statistics with the support of

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes found thus “Nigerian

Courts of law receive the biggest bribes from citizens among

all institutions in which corruption is rampant” the report

stated further “though bribery in the judiciary was less

frequent than in many agencies, it required the biggest

transactions.”

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• Honourable Justice Eso recently had cause to lament on

happenings at the Election Petition Tribunals where he stated that

Judges handling electoral matters become billionaires overnight.

This view was corroborated by Maj. Gen. Ishola Williams (Rtd)

Chairman of Transparency International (TI) in Nigeria, who

claimed that election tribunals were becoming goldmines for

Nigerian Judges. He stated thus:

“All the Judges are just using the election tribunals to make

money. All those who had gone through election tribunals are

Millionaires today. I challenge them to say NO.”

• Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) Chairman Chartered Institute of

Arbitrators of Nigeria lamented thus:

“Time was when a lawyer could predict the likely outcome of a

case because of the facts, the law and the brilliance of the

lawyers that handled the case. Today, things have changed and

nobody can be sure. Nowadays, politicians would text the

outcome of the judgment to their party men before the

judgment is delivered and prepare their supporters ahead of

time for celebration.”

• The above scenario presents a sad commentary on the

perception of the judiciary by Nigerians.

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T h e R o l e O f T h e J u d i c i a r y I n C o m b a t i n g C o r r u p t i o n I n

N i g e r i a

• There is no doubt that corruption is the biggest and most

embarrassing challenge facing Nigeria today. It is indeed a

serious threat on our economic and democratic development. His

Lordship Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher (CJN) (as he then was)

stated correctly at the SERAP Roundtable on 9th February 2012,

in his keynote address thus:

“When the rule of law is weak, corruption will remain a

nagging problem…………………………

“Corruption in the Justice sector is a keystone to corruption

throughout society. Without an honest criminal justice system,

the wealthy, especially the corrupt, can escape the

consequences of their crimes. Such impunity reduces the

perceived cost of corruption. The risk that corrupt activity will

result in imprisonment and accompanying public humiliation

is minimal. The gains from corruption are therefore not

discounted and there is thus little reason beyond personal

integrity not to engage in corrupt acts.

Metaphorically a corrupt judge has been described as more

harmful to the society than a man who runs amok with a

dagger in a crowded street.

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The latter as you know can be restrained physically. But the

former deliberately destroys the moral foundation of society

and causes incalculable distress to individuals while still

answering “honourable”.

• From the foregoing, it can be discerned that Nigerians are indeed

concerned about the judiciary in carrying out its role as the

bastion of hope for the common man.

• There is no doubt that the fight against corruption in Nigeria is a

collective one and all hands must be on deck to win the battle as

the saying goes “ I t t a k e s t w o t o t a n g o ” . Where there is no

“ o f f e r o r ” there can be no “ o f f e r e e ” . In other words, corruption

persists and reigns supreme in Nigeria because persons in

authority have either been corrupted by the system or by the

people they come in contact with. If the people unanimously

choose not to influence the work of public officers, indeed, the

corrupt public officers cannot continue to operate without being

exposed. Therefore there are “ c o r r u p t o r s ” and “c o r r u p t e e s ” but

the judiciary plays a pivotal and central role in the fight against

corruption because:

(i) By virtue of the provisions of the Constitution, all cases are

referred to the court for adjudication. Invariably all

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corruption allegations, investigations and cases are

referred to court.

(ii) By virtue of Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, only the

Courts and tribunals established by law are vested with

powers to adjudicate between the State (prosecution) and

the individual (accused) and determine the culpability or

otherwise of an accused person in any corruption case.

(iii) No body or institution can condemn a man on the basis of

any investigation or findings without recourse to the Court

or Tribunal established by Law. To do otherwise will be a

negation of the cherished principle of the Rule of Law which

is the foundation of our democracy.

(iv) Any finding, decision, determination or pronouncement of

the Court on the fate of an individual in respect of any

particular allegation is final. The individual concerned may

in subsequent proceedings plead autrefois acquit or

convict.

Based on the foregoing, it is therefore imperative to posit that the

factors that influence the judiciary’s ability to perform its role in

combating corruption in Nigeria can be summarized as follows:

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(i) I n d e p e n d e n c e : For the Judiciary to play its role in the fight

against corruption it must be independent and free from any form

of interference or influence in terms of funding, political

manipulation e.t.c. This will enable Judges to determine cases

freely and competently on the basis of facts presented before

them and nothing more.

(ii) The Courts must ensure that cases bordering on corruption are

dealt with expeditiously to instill public confidence in the fight

against corruption. To this end, the court must ensure that

recourse to unnecessary technicalities are avoided or outrightly

rejected

(iii) C o m p e t e n c e o f J u d g e s : The fight against corruption will indeed

be more effective when Judges are properly trained, better

motivated, disciplined and committed to duty. The need for

Judges to be better trained to handle (corruption) cases cannot

be over-emphasised. Thus, his Lordship SAULAWA, JCA stated

this fact clearly in a paper delivered at the Commonwealth Legal

Education Association Conference on congestion of cases in

Nigerian Courts on 28th -30th November 2000 thus:

“It is not in doubt that the nature of the office and functions of

a judge call for a very high sense of duty, probity, integrity and

transparency, as such any Judge so appointed without

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possessing the above fundamental qualities is no doubt bound to

be a clog and obstacle to justice. As someone would say-

For, a Judge with little or no learning can be a most dangerous

clogs in the administration of justice.”

(iv) I n c o r r u p t i b i l i t y o f t h e B e n c h : A corrupt bench can only worsen

the fight against corruption. For the Judiciary to position itself

properly against the fight against corruption it must first purge

itself of corruption. It will be a very sad day indeed for the court

which is seen as the bastion of hope of the common man to stand

as an “accused” in the fight against corruption. This indeed will

signify the end of everything.

(v) The prosecuting agencies must provide proper training for

prosecutors of corruption cases.

(vi) The courts must be properly equipped with modern facilities to be

able to fast-track the determination of corruption related cases

and indeed understand the modus operandi of persons accused

of cases of corruption.

CONCLUSION

The fight against corruption as stated earlier is a collective one and all

hands must indeed be on deck in order to ensure a corrupt-free Nigeria.

The court which is final arbiter in our criminal Justice system must be

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well-positioned and prepared both intellectually and otherwise to handle

the great challenge posed by the ever changing dynamics and face of

corruption. It must first purge and cleanse itself of all forms of corruption

and discharge its duties without fear or favour.

Thank you for listening.

THE ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY IN COMBATING CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA