A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oba Maduabuchi, has lamented that the Nigerian judiciary has left its job, alleging that it now involves itself in partisan politics. Maduabuchi made the allegation on Tuesday while responding to questions in an interview on Arise Television.
His remarks were amid the Appeal Court judgement which vacated the order for the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other political parties. Maduabuchi advised Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court to resign from the bench.
“You listen to what the Court of Appeal, the higher court, is saying about you; I don’t know why, how anybody can say that about me, and I will eat, or I will sleep. There are things that should not be said about certain classes of people, like a judge that judges other people, and they are telling you that this is judicial impertinence. Very strong word, rascality, and not fit for the bench? That’s strong,” he noted.
He alleged that judges are influenced by higher courts’ orders, stressing that it is bad for Nigeria’s democracy. He expressed worry about the future of the legal profession in the country, given the perceived corruption and lack of impartiality among judges. The senior lawyer also blamed the judiciary for publicly criticising judges deemed not fit by a higher court, noting the importance of judicial decorum and the integrity of the bench.
“The judiciary has left its job and is now involving itself in partisan politics. It is very obvious. Once a case is filed, we know what the result will be. That is bad for Nigeria’s democracy.
“The judiciary should, in fact, be like Caesar’s wife, above board. So, those of us who have spent nearly half a century doing this business, I looked at my two sons who are lawyers, and I say, “What are you going to meet in the next five years when I would have retired?
“How can I spend time preparing a case, putting four to five hours of hard work, and somebody will just rubbish it,” he asked.
