In this interview with Ise-Oluwa Ige, a firebrand rights activist and respected member of the inner bar, Mr Adekunle Adegoke, SAN spoke on a couple of topical issues in the country including a recent court order obtained by a Chinese firm in Paris to confiscate three of Nigeria’s presidential jets, the twin policy of Tinubu administration on fuel subsidy and forex exchange, overcrowded correctional centres nationwide with over 57,000 awaiting-trial-inmates and how the newly appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, can restore public confidence in the judiciary.
Q: A Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited, recently obtained an order in Paris to confiscate three of Nigeria’s presidential jets over termination of contractual agreement between it and Ogun State. What is your take on this?
In the law of contract, there is what is called ‘the sanctity of contract’ and once an agreement is entered into, it must be carried out by the parties. In the Latin term, we say ‘pacta sunt servanda’. The agreement was between Ogun State Government and the Chinese entity based on a bilateral investment treaty between Nigeria and China. Nigeria’s argument was said to be based on the theory of sovereign immunity by which a foreign government cannot be made subject to the jurisdiction of another foreign court or arbitral panel. This argument was rejected while the judgment and a subsequent appeal went against Nigeria.
I believe that we need to be careful about agreements we enter into with foreign investors. It is important that sub-national entities in Nigeria need to review all the foreign investment agreements they have entered into so that Nigeria is not made a laughing stock in the comity of nations. When agreements are breached, tendency is that Nigeria will be made liable as most jurisdictions all over the world have adopted the doctrine of restrictive immunity by which foreign sovereigns entering into commercial transactions are now liable under such contracts and the defence of absolute sovereign immunity does not avail anymore when it comes to commercial transactions.
Q: The twin policy of Tinubu administration on fuel subsidy and forex exchange remain controversial. What is your advice for the government and the people.
The government needs to review its policies urgently. These two policies of subsidy removal and floating forex exchange have impacted negatively on the common man and the tendency is for the people to be complaining. While the government may argue that we have made a lot of financial gains since the introduction of the two policies, it is high time the government reinvested the moneys made to create jobs and achieve food security. It is important that the value of naira must be improved otherwise, the nation will continue to bleed. There is nowhere the IMF policies have been adopted without the people suffering. Genuine and respected experts in economics like Professor Jeffrey Sachs who have served as consultants to the World Bank in the past have consistently warned that these policies cannot benefit any third world nation as they are designed to inflict pain on the people. They are designed to make the government unpopular so that the third world nations can be subjugated and controlled. No matter how well-intentioned the government might be when it introduced the policies, the effect are not making the common man to laugh. I implore the government to review these policies urgently.
Q: Data from the Nigerian Correctional Centre indicates that no fewer than 57,288 persons out of 84,283 inmates across the 244 correctional centres in the country are still awaiting trial. Does this statistics worry you? And what is the way out?
It is definitely worrisome to have a staggering number of this nature in our correctional centres awaiting trial. It is a subversion of justice for people to await trial for years while their innocence is still protected by the Constitution.
Attorneys General of the various States have a lot to do in this regard. The Directors of Public Prosecution of the various States have a lot to do in this regard. Many of such awaiting-trial inmates are in prison as a result of DPP’s advice that has not come out to determine whether there is a prima facie case for them to answer. Every Attorney General must ensure that no file lasts more than a week with his DPP when it comes to rendering DPP’s advice. This will enable the system to know if there is any basis for prosecution or not.
Judges and Magistrates too have a lot to do to assist. A situation where the prosecution is unduly stalling trials must be discouraged. Adjournment of criminal cases of petty substance where there is lack of diligent prosecution must stop. Judges and Magistrates are highly instrumental to decongesting our correctional centres and the earlier they step up the game, the better.
Q: The NJC has recommended Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun for appointment as CJN. What can you say about her, her suitability for the job and your expectations from her in the next four years?
The Honourable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is one of the finest legal minds that Nigeria has ever produced. His Lordship has a great pedigree, having risen through the ranks from being a Magistrate to becoming a High Court Judge in Lagos State, to the Court of Appeal and finally, to the Supreme Court.
Honourable Justice Kekere-Ekun is one of those Justices you can say is not corrupt and has worn his gown with impeccable gait. In terms of capacity, His Lordship is an embodiment of brilliance and discipline. Judgments of His Lordship have stood the test of correctness and wit, that in many cases, they are difficult to fault. Such a judicial officer deserves to head the highest institution like the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the judicial sector in its entirety. I believe His Lordship’s tenure is going to be a blessing to both the judiciary and the entire Nigerian nation.
In terms of expectation, there is a lot of work to be done. the Nigerian judiciary has a low-rating before an average man on the street as a result of the bad character of a few judges who have tarnished the image of the judiciary. The new Chief Justice of Nigeria must be firm in discipline as His Lordship heads the National Judicial Council which is responsible for discipline of erring judges. His Lordship must ensure that the Council applies strict disciplinary sanctions including prosecution of erring judges where their transgressions amount to criminal acts. This is aside from removal from office.
When it comes to appointment of judges, His Lordship needs to ensure that merit and integrity become the watchword at all times. A lot of criticisms have been levied against some judicial appointments in the past and we need to critically look at this. In many cases, persons of low integrity have been appointed onto the bench or elevated to higher courts. These individuals were not sufficiently filtered by subjecting their appointments to review by the general members of the public as it is done when lawyers are being elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. It is these unfit elements that have consistently tarnished the image of the judiciary as they carry on their business without respect for the law or the ethics of the profession.
Members of the public who have related with these individuals must be afforded the opportunity to comment on their suitability before they are appointed as judges. A corrupt individual who is not given the license to operate as a judge will definitely abuse the office to gain personal profit. This is a violation of judicial ethics.
In addition, appointment and elevation of judges must be on merit. Judicial office is not where an incompetent person or a mediocre is appointed to as a compensation for past favours or benefit parental relationships. While we have many judges who are competent, brilliant and honest, we have many who have been conferred the status of judgeship whose competence is highly questionable. The new CJN will need to up the ante in this regard so that members of the public can vest their trust in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.
It is expected that with the increase in judicial officers’ remuneration by 300 percent, our judges will be better economically and the tendency to be tempted by filthy lucre will reduce. This is a legitimate expectation in any reasonable society and our judges must live up to this. The new CJN has a lot to do to ensure that bad eggs within the judiciary are removed as they are the ones destroying the good works of the majority.
In addition to the above is the need to ensure that judgments of courts are enforced. It has become the trade-in-stock of many governmental institutions to refuse to obey court order. The judiciary must ensure that judgments and orders of court are treated with highest regard. An unenforced order or judgment is a worthless piece of paper in the hands of the person in whose favour it was issued. Where institutions or some high net-worth individuals treat court orders and judgments with disdain, the judiciary would no longer be regarded by the common man as justice would have been thrown to the dogs. There must be a strict approach to this.
Q: It has been rumoured that Justice Kekere-Ekun’s job may be tough because political interference played a role in the elevation of most of the newly appointed justices of the Supreme Court. How do you react to this allegation and do you have any fear it could affect her control of the court’s affairs?
The new Sheriff in town, I believe is more than capable in this respect. His Lordship has a record of strict discipline and I am sure we shall see positive developments. As regards the fact that many judges were appointed with political interference playing a role, this is a fact that we cannot ignore. Their relationships with anyone should not matter and I believe that where any of such newly appointed judges is found wanting, the new CJN must ensure that what counts is the oath of allegiance taken in favour of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not the connection of the individual involved. It will be a failure of expectation where this is not met and hence, I will implore the new CJN to work strictly on improving on the rating of the judiciary. I believe it is what can be done as the character and orientation of the CJN would determine how many corrupt elements would approach the bench.
In addition to the above, institutions like the National Judicial Council must rise to the occasion as it is not a yeoman job that the CJN alone can do. There are many people in the NJC who are responsible for maintaining discipline and appointment of judges. I want to believe that majority of these people would realise that the legal profession needs be saved and the judicial institution is central to how lawyers are regarded in society. There must be synergy between the members of the NJC , the Federal Judicial Service Commission and all other institutions.
That #EndBadGovernance protest has come and gone. What is your view on the quality of preparation by its conveners, its implementation and the way forward.
I do not think there is anything wrong in citizens protesting against government policies they find disagreeable or unfavourable. The only rejection I have is when protests results into violence or destruction or private or public properties. The organisers of the last protest cannot be said to have adequately prepared for the protest as to be able to guarantee the need to be peaceful.
When calling for a nationwide protest, there must be structures in place to ensure coordination and effective command of the process. In the northern parts of the country, for instance, we lost many government properties to vandalism and reckless looting. This is what made genuine activists Mr. Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, SAN to quickly call for a stop to the protests because it was becoming an uncontrollable inferno that might consume too many lives. That is why a reputable individual like Mr. Femi Falana, SAN said he could not participate in a protest whose organisers he did not know. It was when individuals like that made their stance known that the organisers decided to carry out some respected voice. A legitimate campaign and recognized mode of making demands would have completely led to anarchy as seen in most parts of the north where a lot vandals desecrated government institutions and looted private businesses.
Organisers of protests need to pay attention to this. Tendency is that where protests become uncontrollable, security officials would be compelled to apply force to rein in the vagabonds that would want to exploit the protest to make illicit personal gains. This might lead to loss of lives and that ought not to be the case. Organisers of protests must also have leadership to which they listen so that their demands can be adequately presented and the process can be controlled for maximum effect.
Vanguard
