The Judges, who were alleged to have indulged themselves in acts of corruption in the execution of their official duties, are telling their own stories about how the cookie crumbled and the falcon can no longer hear the falconer. Some of them are actually screaming vendetta against some prominent members of the executive arm of government, an indication that those officers whose names were mentioned are, as the judges, morally flawed and ought not to limit their response to mere media denials. As the argument moves back and forth, there are suggestions that the judges must be relieved of their duties so as to enable a thorough investigation of their culpability or otherwise.
However, section 36 (5) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that an accused is innocent until otherwise proved guilty. Even so, legal luminaries insist that the justices and judges must be so treated just as the call for their stepping down is not necessarily predicated on a presumption of guilt but from a need to preserve the very ethical and moral foundation of the judiciary which, ostensibly, is what is on trial in this whole saga.
Others also posit that the gravity of the allegations against the judicial officers should permit public policy over a strict adherence to the rules so as to avoid absurdities. Three of the justices are fighting back and are insisting that the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and some named top government functionaries were behind their ordeal as a payback for not acquiescing to earlier pressures to influence judgement in their favour.
Obviously, the issue of corruption in the judiciary is one that has continued to cause genuine concern among discerning Nigerians who had come to revere the institution as the very temple of justice which at all times ought to be beyond reproach. But they are justifiedly appalled by the stench oozing out from the very Sanctum Sanctorum. It is our opinion that everyone involved in the act, even if tangentially, must give an account of his or her role to enable Nigerians place blame appropriately where it belongs.
Outraged as the public may want to be in reaction to this national odium, they must also find time to listen to the story the judges are already telling regarding the role played by whoever in the emerging embarrassing scenario. It will be unfair to treat their allegations against some government officials as an afterthought. The DSS incident has only provided them an opportunity to vent their pent up emotions on a matter that is not only threatening to jeopardise their career but is also tainting an image that has taken them time and effort to cultivate.
It is our considered opinion that for the sake of fairness, equity and good conscience, all those mentioned by the judges as executing a personal animosity against them for whatever reasons must also be pressurised to toe the path of honour, step down from their offices and make themselves available to be investigated based on those allegations against them by the judges who, in spite of this unfortunate development, are notable Nigerians with a pedigree and are not given to frivolity.
In making this suggestion, we want it clearly understood that we are on the part of truth regardless of who is involved. No matter what anyone may say to the contrary, the judges, on their own, cannot be corruptive influences.
Therefore, it is pertinent at this point, in our view, for President Muhammadu Buhari, to remain open to good counsel and be advised to investigate the allegations being bandied about by both parties for they bear grave and serious import on his anti-corruption war effort. We know that there are hardly saints among politicians wherever they may be, in the Executive arm, the Legislature and, not in the least, the Judiciary. Based on this reality, we join other Nigerians in demanding for the truth. The accused judges and those they allege to be their co-travellers must give way for that truth to be revealed. We have decided to give corruption a good fight. There must not be any half measures.
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