By Tunji Ajibade
Ask what the foremost solution to the problems of any government institution is, and I will respond that it is the head of the agency. It is the head that houses the brain, the ears, as well as the eyes. These organs are needed to direct the body correctly. This isn’t the first time on this page that I state something of a similar nature regarding government institutions. In years past, I treated different angles to the problems in ministries, departments, and agencies, and how those who head them are either the cause of problems or the solution. I recall using the analogy, at one stage, that once the head of a government agency takes one item out of 10 items meant for members of the public, the subordinates are emboldened to take theirs down the line, and that way, a government policy meant to benefit the populace is defeated. The people are left with nothing. Issues of performance by MDAs come down to how the leader leads. My expositions in the past regarding this, therefore, made me notice it when Her Lordship, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, took a decision recently that got everyone talking.
At least, Nigerians who care about the good of this country are talking. They do in appreciation of how Her Lordship has utilised her position to touch at least one aspect of what ails this nation – corruption among judicial officers. This reminds me of an encounter in time past. My belief that the quality of the person who’s the head matters in the performance of an institution informed the view I expressed during the said encounter in 2015. Someone who was worried about the condition of this nation at that stage, when a new party took over the reins of power at the centre, verbalised his concerns to me. He asked me: “How is he going to navigate successfully these challenges that face the nation?” He was referring to the incoming president at the time.
I understood the entire stretch of his concerns. And with my little understanding of the structure of government, delegated powers, etc., I explained that though the challenges were many, all that the President needed to do was get capable hands to assist him. All that any president needed to do, and which the law provided for, was to place the best ministers and directors-general he could get in the MDAs. He could then outline to the appointees his vision and mission for the nation, and expect them to actualise these in their little corners. Did the 2015 class of appointees make a positive difference at their posts, or did they contribute to the problem? Each of us knows the answer.
So, what exactly did Justice Kekere-Ekun do? Upon assuming office, she introduced a public-feedback-based integrity test for judicial appointments. This is to allow members of the public to submit petitions or comments on shortlisted nominees. Now, that step has yielded results which resound across the land, and I’m sure it’s noted even by international institutions that monitor transparency and anti-corruption matters. Certainly, the cry of victims of what wasn’t right in the judicial system travelled, and Justice Kekere-Ekun heard it. She’s heard as well how some corrupt fellows rise to judicial benches across the nation. Of course, we all know what such fellows do; they bring the rot they know to the hallowed bench, thus destroying the system we all wish would serve us not only fairly but justly.
You meet them wherever you turn. Fellows who use their official positions to extort. And they’re brazen about it in such a despicable manner, making one wonder how these humans have lost every sense of self-respect. The lack of personal discipline is on full display, a clear indication that some of these characters must have been brought up on the lowest rung of what should make us decent human beings. Their greed for money has buried their sense of what is dignified. These fellows are so bereft of decency that it’s gut-wrenching. When the Chief Justice took the recent decision, I wish I had kept my own record of situations where officers had used their positions to extort. These fellows don’t even try to hide it anymore.
They do it blatantly, like there’s nothing their victims can do about it. Now, Her Lordship has set a precedent; she makes it clear that there’s much that victims of a corrupt government official can do. With just one stroke of her pen, with one pronouncement she made, the Chief Justice has empowered Nigerians. It’s such a relief. And if no one else has told Justice Kekere-Ekun that she has revolutionised the Nigerian judicial system with that one stroke of the pen, I tell her here. This is a landmark step that should be duplicated across MDAs and other relevant institutions. Let there be a public-feedback-based integrity test, among other policies that can bring sanity to a corrupt system. It’s only the leader who’s not interested in transparency that won’t adopt a variation of Justice Kekere-Ekun’s good example in any way that can help their MDAs.
Worthy of note was the fact that when the Chief Justice gave Nigerians an opportunity to have a say regarding those who should make judicial pronouncements over them, Nigerians seized it with both hands. It shows that Nigerians are ready to help sanitise the system if given the chance. So, the National Judicial Council, as part of its statutory duties, embarked on the selection process for new justices. At one stage, the names of 62 applicants who passed a computer-based test were published. This was in line with the policy introduced by the CJN for the purpose of allowing public feedback on the integrity, reputation, and suitability of applicants for judicial appointment.
Of the total number of 62 names published, 34 nominees, including a chief superintendent of police, failed the judges’ appointment integrity test conducted by the Federal Judicial Service Commission.
Just imagine if that number had managed to sneak onto the bench. This is one way practically every institution in this nation is poisoned by fellows who have no integrity. One of the petitions received during the public feedback process accused a serving CSP of collecting bribes and lacking the requisite integrity to be appointed as a judge. The petitioners alleged that the CSP, while serving as Officer-in-Charge of the Legal Section at Zone 7 Police Command, Abuja, was known as a public officer whose integrity was totally compromised by her love for taking bribes.
The petitioners, in this CSP’s case, narrated that the incident occurred on January 16, 2025, when their client was arrested without a warrant by officers from Zone 7 Police Command following a court enforcement exercise at his residence. According to the petition, the CSP refused to grant bail until the sum of N1m was paid through a proxy’s account, who is a friend of the CSP, after which the client was released. In the petition, written by a legal practitioner on behalf of a client, it was stated that the CSP had a reputation for soliciting bribes and, therefore, failed the integrity and reputation requirements for judicial appointment.
On becoming aware of the publication concerning the 62 nominees, the petitioner reported to the Police Service Commission. The PSC then constituted a panel of inquiry to investigate the allegation. The paid bribe was traced to the CSP’s account during the investigation. Since this was not collected based on any official requirements, the PSC concluded that the CSP’s conduct demonstrated a lack of integrity and that it rendered her unsuitable for judicial appointment. The petitioner urged the NJC to reject the CSP’s nomination, stating that she “is a corrupt police officer and, if appointed, would only become a corrupt judicial officer”. And the petitioner in this particular case was so happy that he commended the judiciary for the integrity screening process, noting that it was a necessary step to restore public confidence in the justice system. That’s the kind of joy Justice Kekere-Ekun has brought to the hearts of Nigerians over this new policy. I urge Her Lordship to ensure that this policy and others like it are permanently instituted in every way possible, so that they’ll apply both now and in the future of Nigeria’s judicial system.
Tunji Ajibade
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