Nigerian judiciary as a misunderstood confraternity

Nigerians have already succeeded in decimating the reputation of their police force with their tongues. They have escalated and aggravated their flaws, they have practically ejected every shred of dignity that the institution ever enjoyed. There is no iota of respect; thus leaving the institution on the floor.

In this era of social media where cancel culture and mob action are the order of the day, they now want to do the same thing to the judiciary. The judiciary has become an arm of government, like a confraternity, that is very much misunderstood, disrespected and denigrated by some people on the basis of ignorance, mischief and the emerging culture of “if I don’t win, it must have been rigged”.

But again like a confraternity, their lordships soldier on, they are tough and unbreakable. They will never subject themselves to the dictates of the social media mob in the adjudication of cases before them. They will only look at the merits of the cases before them and the evidence presented by the litigants.

Democracy as a form of government is about the division of labour. It abides not only among men but also among the divine who occupy the heavens. It is observed upon careful introspection that the leader of all that was, all that is and all that will ever be, is the most legitimate example of a ruler who employs the method of division of labour.

The owner of the seven-storey duplex of the heavens in his heavenly royalty delegates and allows teamwork. He rules by angels, he rules by prophets, pastors, imams and even rules by witches and wizards. So let no mortal man discard such an example to condemn the distribution of responsibilities among men.

Indeed, there should be more than one arm of government for the purpose of efficiency and checks and balances. Otherwise, the tyranny of those in power will know no limitation.

While the executive is dignified with the duty of formulating policies as to the execution of the law, the legislature enjoys the responsibility of making those laws and the judiciary is the one with the noble encumbrance of interpreting those laws.

The Nigerian people are generally disgruntled with their leaders across all facets — for obvious reasons and validly so. They have however begun to go outside the perimeters of constructive criticism and are now delving into casting aspersions on that sacred temple whose workings they do not understand.

To have a billboard in the capital of the republic saying “all eyes on the judiciary” is ridiculous. That should not happen and if it happens, the catalysts of such an aberration should not be allowed to go without retribution. This is part of the ongoing obsession with denigrating judges and desecrating the judiciary; it should not be condoned.

“Judges are born, not made”. This statement originated and was downloaded from the wisdom of a Judex whose judicial robe is worth its salt. This is why the ills bedevilling that sacred temple of justice do not have its dirty linens washed outside. Judicial officers enjoy divine cover because they represent God when they sit to judge. This is also why they do not appear to lack in spite of the disregard for their due welfare. No judicial officer whose robe has not been torn by actions unworthy of a Judex can ever be seen to be in want. Earthly shame is almost impossible in the realm of Lady Justicia’s nobles.

Because the judiciary is misunderstood, Nigerians do not see that it is the one arm of government that is actually serving the people. Those who hold the judiciary as part of the Nigerian problem either do not know or have refused to pay attention to the fact that even the judiciary is subject to the laws of the land, the grand norm being the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Ironically, Nigerians now believe the judiciary enjoys its role in deciding election petitions, a duty they did not ask for but was rather foisted on them by the 1999 constitution (as amended), the electoral act, the nature of our politics and the fact that our politicians are mostly bad losers. This is the reason Nigerians are erroneously angry with the judiciary.

Nigerians are not aware that their judicial officers are already burdened with too much work and can do away with that responsibility happily as it is an arm of government that does not even like to involve itself in politics at any rate. Judicial officers are not only overburdened by too much work but they are also overburdened by personal responsibilities because the system that makes the lives of those in the executive and the legislature easier has not extended the same arm of generosity towards them. They do not enjoy the same convoys and the same security apparatus as their counterparts in the other arms.

That is despite the fact that an argument can actually be made in favour of judicial officers having their security situation taken very seriously for their every decision elicits a loser and a winner. A loser is a man with a motive. So their protection should be on the front burner. It is not so, unfortunately.

Dignity is not always a matter of abstraction, what the eyes can see contributes to how much respect is given in certain material aspects. Courtrooms should have the aura and the necessary equipment that wear for it the garb of a respected temple. They should not be dilapidated, seen to be abandoned, or expelled from maintenance. However, the court infrastructure across the country is nothing to write home about. Thus defacing the material glory of the courtrooms. Why? There isn’t enough supply of sufficient provision for that noble arm of government.

While it has its shortcomings, the judiciary does not deserve the kind of perspective that Nigerians are trying to paint it in. They suffer as the people suffer and they could also do with a better society devoid of extreme greed by the powers that be on that front.

Thus, the present administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should prioritise the restoration of their dignity. Even better, their divine protection never seizing, will not allow for the flooring of their reputation as Iudex est deus in terra (A judge is God on earth).

Belgore, a legal practitioner, writes from Abuja. He tweets @amintin and can be reached via [email protected].