Our democracy is on trial and it is difficult to maintain a “siddon look” attitude in the face of burgeoning judicial rascality. But we must be resolute even when greater forces are involved. According to Elie Wiesel, “there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” It goes beyond who is presently involved; it is about ensuring that justice is fairly served in the society, as you may never know who will be next. Martin Luther King, Jr. succinctly captured this situation when he posited that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
As the political motivation behind the trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, becomes more evident, can we safely say that the judiciary is now caught in a web of high politics and has put itself on trial as a willing tool in this matter? Since we are in a season of body language, it appears the body language around the legal ordeal of the Senate President is gradually confirming speculations that ab initio, the whole trial was designed to serve a vested interest. Saraki himself at the beginning of this trial had raised a fundamental fear that his trial was politically motivated and this concern made him to first seek cover at a Federal High Court and subsequently at the appellate courts.
He said: “As I stated while taking the plea in the case, I reiterate my belief that the only reason while I am going through this trial is because I am Senate President. If I were to be just a Senator, I doubt if anybody will be interested in the asset declaration form I filled over twelve years ago. It is my humble opinion that this case is a vivid example that there is still flagrant disregard for due process in our polity. This trial is not only being observed by Nigerians alone, the international community is (also) watching because Nigeria is a key member of this community. So, the executive, legislature and judiciary should do the right thing that will truly demonstrate that we have imbibed the spirit of positive change.”
The latest ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to proceed with the trial of Saraki, showing indifference to a pending appeal at the Supreme Court has made more Nigerians to appreciate, as founded, the initial apprehension of the Senate President. Consider the crucial question begging for an answer: Is there a law or are there sections of our law that could have granted the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, some power to defer action and respect the superiority of Saraki’s appeal at the Court of Appeal and on the same ground disregard the pendency of the same case at the Supreme Court? This poser was doubtlessly responsible for the action of the learned silks defending Saraki, who were reported to have walked out of the CCT hearing of the asset declaration case.
In the view of counsels representing the Senate President and rightly so, the ruling of the court was a bizarre verdict that showed a clear affront on the Supreme Court, being the highest ruling and most superior court in the land. In siding with Mahmud Magaji (SAN) who announced the decision of the defence team to stage a walk-out, such symbolic action was necessary for the record, to protect the integrity and seniority of the apex court. It could not have been the intendment of the defence team to embarrass the tribunal if the reputation of the bench itself was not on trial before the tribunal. At this point in our nation’s history, it has become imperative to do anything necessary, without violating the law, to protect the sanctity of democracy of which the Judiciary is one of the pillars.
What we are witnessing in this matter brings to the fore the second question: are we witnessing a prosecution of a case or a persecution of Saraki? So far, the matter is headed in a suspicious direction, indicating that the CCT was in a hurry to arrive at a premeditated conclusion. With due respect to the Tribunal and without sounding judgmental, the observation raised by the Senate President at the beginning of this trial regarding the issue of fair hearing by the Code of Conduct Bureau as allowed by its act before filing this matter at the CCT was enough to have allowed this matter take a life of its own.
Since the commencement of the trial, the action of Danladi Umar has left no one in doubt about the mission he is out to accomplish. The latest ruling (to give two weeks extension of time to Saraki to prepare for his defence after his legal team walked out and in spite of the pendency of an appeal at the Supreme Court) indeed amounted to an affront and disrespect to judicial hierarchy. It was Nelson Demille who said that “if everyone howled at every injustice, every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness, then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity.” Without sounding immodest, it now appears that the CCT has become a court of political trial. For instance, Nigerians would recall that the last person tried by the Tribunal was widely alleged to be a victim of political witch-hunt.
As it is, if the general code of conduct for judicial officers also applies to the Chairman of the CCT, Danladi Umar, then it would not be preposterous for the defence team to seek his disqualification from the matter. It is clearly stated in the code that: “A Judicial Officer should disqualify himself in a proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to the instances where: (a) he has personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or personal knowledge of facts in dispute.”
Mr Adah is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine.
