Judicial reforms: Can Mohammed bite like Mukhtar?

In this report, AMEH EJEKWONYILO examines some of the tough reforms that were carried out by the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar; where she took on “powerful” forces in the judiciary in a bid to purge the system of corrupt judicial officers, and the task before the new CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, to carrying the reforms despite all odds

When President Goodluck Jonathan swore in former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar as the country’s first female CJN in July 2012, it was a moment of history and excitement as she pledged before the Nigerian Senate during the confirmation process of her appointment to redeem public confidence in the justice sector.
She had said: “On the perspective of the Nigerian judiciary by the public, indeed as it is at now, it is very bad and I am saddened by it…I will try to make sure that the confidence reposed in the judiciary, as it was before, will be reformed. I will try as much as possible to ensure that the bad eggs that are there are flushed out; that there will be a cleansing by the National Judiciary Council based on petition. It is sad that the ordinary man on the street thinks that he cannot get justice. This is because of the situation we find ourselves. I will ensure that this perception changes.”
Two years down the line, stakeholders in the judiciary penultimate Thursday converged at the Supreme Court chambers to say, “Justice Mukhtar has done well.” To the layman on the street as Mukhtar had said above, the judiciary had witnessed some major reforms in terms of instilling some level of discipline in judicial officers, particularly judges that hitherto were subverting/ circumventing the process, despite some of the controversial judgments the apex court delivered in recent times such as the discharge and acquittal of a former Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Chairman, Chief Bode Judge of corrupt practices.
First female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs. Folake Solanke (SAN) said at the valedictory session in honour of Mukhtar that “a lot of credit must be given to the CJN for the level of cleansing which has been achieved in this regard during her (Mukhtar) tenure, through the discipline of some erring judges.
It would be recalled that Justice Mukhtar as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) took some extreme measures to salvage the judiciary.
One of such measures was that the NJC at its meeting which was held on 26th February, 2014  had recommended the compulsory retirement from office of Hon. Justice G.K. Olotu of the Federal High Court and Hon. Justice U. A. Inyang of High Court of Justice of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, respectively for gross misconduct.
The said two judges were mandated to proceed on immediate suspension pending the time President Jonathan Goodluck would approve their removal from office.
Apart from Olotu and Inyang, the statement further had it that three other judges were warned. The justices who received warning are the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, Justice Dalhatu Adamu, Justice A A. Adeleye of the Ekiti State High Court and Justice D. O. Amaechina of the Anambra High Court.
Giving the details of their misdeeds, Oye stated that Adamu, Adeleye and Amaechina had incurred the wrath of the NJC for absenteeism and low performance- related offences.
Justice Olotu’s offences, were listed in the statement which read in part, “Hon. Justice G. K. Olotu was recommended for compulsory retirement from office of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, pursuant to the ‘findings” by the Council on the following allegations inter-alia, contained in the petitions written against His Lordship:-
“That the judge failed to deliver judgment, only to deliver same in Suit No. FHC/ UY/250/2003, eighteen months after the final address by all the counsel in the suit, contrary to the constitutional provisions that judgment should be delivered within a period of 90 days|”
Inyang’ offences included the following indictment: “That the judge included in his Judgment, references to the Garnishee Proceedings, which came after the judgment had been delivered on 20th December, 2011.
“That His Lordship also included the name of the counsel to Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru, SAN, who came into the matter after the judgment of 20th December, 2011 was delivered;
“That the judge recklessly signed a Writ of Execution, a day after delivering his judgment of 20th December, 2011, the same day a Notice of Appeal and Motion on Notice for Stay of Execution were filed.”
It would be recalled that just a year ago, the NJC sacked two justices; They are Thomas Naron of the Plateau High Court of Justice and Charles Archibong of the Federal High Court for sundry unethical behavious and misconducts. The Council later suspended Justice Talba for one year without pay and issued a stern warning to Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court. Talba was the judge who sentenced a self-confessed pension fraudster, Yakubu Yusuf, to two years in prison or payment of a cumulative fine of N750, 000. Yusuf, who was accused of having stolen N32, 8billion, merely paid the fine and walked away a free man.
With these developments, many stakeholders were in agreement that Justice Mukhtar, (who was the Chairman of the NJC) was really walking the talk. She had made it clear upon assumption of office that the era of impunity among the judicial officer is over. She had promised that not only judges indicted of professional misconduct would be would be punished but also judges of low productivity or who like in hitherto tolerated “misdemeanor “like absenteeism.
The foregoing where some of the critical steps the ex-CJN took to rekindle public confidence in the justice system.
Following the retirement of Justice Mukhtar after she clocked the mandatory age of 70, President Goodluck Jonathan swore in Justice Mahmud Mohammed as the new CJN.
Legal luminaries and Nigerians are of the view that these reforms must be sustained.
“This remedial effort must continue in order to restore the aura, dignity, respect and confidence in the judiciary. The National Judicial Council will, no doubt, continue the cleansing process”, Solanke advocated.
Similarly, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN) said: “Let me crave your indulgence to commend the reform initiatives, which honourable Justice Aloma Mukhtar initiated in order to improve on the quality of justice delivery in the country. These initiatives have led to improvement in institutional discipline and sanity with positive impacts on the judiciary. It is therefore safe to conclude that my Lord is leaving behind a better and more focused judiciary than she met it.”
Obviously, Justice Mohammed does not have the mien of a biting bulldog that Justice Mukhtar was said to be by close watchers of her “radical reforms” that she brought to bear in the judiciary; only time will tell in the months ahead in view of the barrage of pre and post elections litigations that are like to emanate from the 2015 general elections if Mohammed can bite like Mukhtar!