‘Budget fraud’: Retired supreme court justice asks ICPC to probe judiciary spending

Ejembi Eko, retired justice of the supreme court, has asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the management of budgetary allocations to the judiciary.

Speaking at the valedictory session to mark his retirement on Monday, Eko alleged that in many jurisdictions, chief registrars allow themselves “to be directed willy-nilly in the vandalisation of the judiciary budget”.

He said despite an increase in the judiciary’s budgetary allocation, it was perplexing that judges’ welfare remained unimpressive.

Eko added that providing access for a probe of the judiciary’s financial records would not jeopardise its independence.

“My lords, the heads of court in the federation have enormous budgetary resources from which they can improve the welfare of serving judges,” he said.

“As it is presently, and as the director of budget in the federal ministry of finance disclosed recently at the memorial lecture in honour of the late Abdullahi Ibrahim, SAN, it is baffling that the welfare of judges remains in abject state, in spite of the increase of the budgetary allocation to the judiciary under this regime. Why?

“The said director of budget suggested that the panacea to the often touted underfunding of the judiciary would be for the judiciary to allow its books to be opened by the relevant authorities.

“This clearly is an allusion, albeit an indictment, pointing to the internal fraud attending to the management of the budgetary resources of the judiciary.

“Nothing stops the office of the auditor-general of the federation, the ICPC and other investigatory agencies from opening the books of the judiciary to expose the corruption in the management of their budgetary resources.

“That does not compromise the independence of the judiciary. Rather, it promotes accountability.

“In most jurisdictions, the chief registrars regard themselves as direct subordinates of even the spouses of heads of court and allow themselves to be directed willy-nilly in the vandalisation of the judiciary budget.”

Eko also accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) of applying double standards in the discipline of erring judges.

“With all deference to the NJC, the punishment fell short of the expectation of the public that these bad eggs should have been broken or smashed and/or exterminated to serve as a deterrence,” he said.

“When the punishment for an outstandingly bad and outrageous conduct is far too lenient, it encourages impunity and/or repeat by others of errant or atrocious misconduct.”