Justice Dattijo ‘used Lawan, Uzodimma’s cases to plot the graph,’ as Nigerians berate judiciary

[By VICTOR NZE]

Issues raised by Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad in his valedictory speech has continued to stir concerns in the polity as Nigerians insist the retiring apex court judge may have been alluding to last Thursday’s judgement delivered by Supreme Court in dismissing of appeals filed by the two presidential candidates in the February 25, 2023 election; Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, and by extension reaffirming President Bola Tinubu as duly elected.

This is just as Nigerians have posited that the comments made by Justice Muhammad on the judiciary in his valedictory speech should ordinarily ‘make any serious country to have a conversation about it.’

According to the respondents, the retiring justice merely used the recent Supreme Court judgements delivered in the cases involving former senate president, Ahmad Lawan and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, as well as, the Atiku/Obi appeal, ‘to plot the graph’ of his damning submissions against the country’s judicial system.

The Supreme Court had in a shock judgement declared Mr Hope Uzodimma as winner of the Imo State Governorship Election in 2019, six months after the conclusion of the exercise, despite finishing fourth in the final results collated and announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after adding fresh votes from already cancelled polling units to the former’s tally.

While the apex court also in a bizarre ruling declared former senate president, Ahmad Lawan as winner of the Yobe North senatorial election primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the February 25, 2023 election despite not participating in the primary which had earlier produced Bashir Machina as winner. Lawan was already on the ballot for the Presidential election primary of the APC and did not participate in the senatorial primaries.

Dattijo in his valedictory speech at the Supreme Court, last Friday, had lamented that the country’s apex court ‘has become something else’ owing to what he listed as absolute and abuse of powers by the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, among other issues.

The retiring Justice also expressed worry over the ‘deliberate’ failure of the Judiciary to fill vacant slots of the South East and North Central at the apex court.

Speaking at a Special Valedictory court session to mark his retirement from the Supreme Court Bench, Friday, Justice Muhammad, faulted the arrangement where the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola is saddled with too much powers based on the present structure of the judiciary, as he warned that ‘absolute powers corrupt absolutely, as he rounded off by describing the country’s judicial institution as having become ‘something else and not what it used to be.’

Public affairs analyst and broadcaster, Mr Oseni Rufai, while reacting to the retired justice’s speech, quoted  Musa Dattijo Muhammad as describing himself as being ‘like a deputy governor who was not consulted by his principal over any decision,’ in his allegations of abuse of power directed at the CJN Ariwoola.

 “As chair of the NJC, FJSC, NJI and LPPC, appointments as council, board and committee members are at his (CJN Ariwoola) pleasure. He neither confers with fellow justices not seeks their counsel or input on any matter related to these bodies. He has both the final and the only say.

“The CJN has power to appoint 80 percent of members of the council and 60 percent of members of FJSC. The same applies to NJI and LPPC.

“Such enormous powers are effortlessly abused. This needs to change,” he said, calling for the reduction of the CJN’s powers.

Dattijo further added that the continued denial of the existence of this threatening anomaly weakens effective judicial oversight in Nigeria, as he also called for an inquiry into what the judiciary does with its funds.

“It is instructive to enquire what the judiciary also does with its allocations. Who is responsible for the expenditure? An unrelenting searchlight needs to be beamed to unravel how the sums are expended.”

Continuing on the poor welfare of justices, Muhammad said the situation has continued to decline over time, as he lamented the poor funding of the judiciary via budgetary allocation despite its increase from N70 billion in 2015 to N165 billion presently.

The retired justice then described as ‘unjust and embarrassing’ the salary arrangement wherein the Chief Registrar ‘earns N1.2 million per month’ while justices ‘take home N751, 000 in a month.’

“That the unjust and embarrassing salary difference between the justices and the Chief Registrar still abides remains intriguing to say the least. Valedictory session after valedictory session lapses and challenges that should be nipped are restated to no avail.

“Why the silence and seeming contentment?

“Justices and officers welfare and the quality of service the judiciary render have continued to decline.”

According to Muhammad, it was owing to allegations of corruption and perversion of justice that informed then President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to order the invasion of homes and arrest of some judges in 2016.

“Not done, in 2019 the government accosted, arrested and arraigned the incumbent Chief Justice before the Code of Conduct Tribunal for alleged underhand conduct.

“With his retirement apparently negotiated, he was eventually left off the hook.

“In 2022, a letter signed by all other justices of the Supreme Court, including the current Chief Justice, the aggrieved protested against the shabby treatment meted to them by the head of court and the Chief Registrar.

“In the event, his lordship Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad disengaged ostensibly on grounds of ill-health.

“My lords, distinguished invitees, ladies and gentlemen, it is obvious that the judiciary I am exiting from is far from the one I voluntarily joined and desired to serve and be identified with. The institution has become something else.”

Dattijo further faulted the appointment of children of justices as judges, adding the public must not be blamed for criticizing certain developments in the judiciary.

“It is asserted that the process of appointment to judicial positions are deliberately conducted to give undue advantage to the children, spouses and mistresses of serving and retired judges and managers of judicial offices.

“At the Court of Appeal, it is asserted, presiding justices are now being appointed out of turn. And there is the further issue of the unpredictable nature of recent decisions of the courts as well.

“A number of respected senior members of the bar inter alia, citing the Ahmed Lawan, the former President of the Senate and Imo governorship appeals, claim that decisions of even the apex court have become unpredictable. It is difficult to understand how and where, by these decisions, the judicial pendulum swings. It was not so before, they contended.

“In some quarters the view is strongly held that filth and intrigues characterize the institution these days! Judges are said to be comfortable in companies they never would have kept in the past. It is being insinuated that some judicial officers even campaign for the politicians. It cannot be more damnifying!”

According to Dattijo, the judiciary he just retired from is way below the standard compared to when he joined the arm of government, calling for urgent judicial reforms, as he, however, appreciated his brother justices for learning from them.

According to Muhammad, the situation is also responsible for the continued vacancy in the slots allocated to the South east and North Central geo-political zones, where he added that while only four regions are represented at the Supreme Court bench, the South West and North West alone have four representatives each, while the rest zones have only one justice in the bench of the apex court.

“My lord Hon. Justice Ejembi Eko JSC, who also represented the zone, retired on 23rd of May, 2022. It has been a year and five months now. There has not been any replacement.

“With the passing of my lord, Hon. Justice Chima Centus Nweze, JSC on 29th July 2023, the South East no longer has any presence at the Supreme Court. My lord, Hon. Justice Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta JSV died on 7th March 2021. There has not been any appointment in his stead for the South East.

“As it stands, only four geo-political regions- the South-West, South-South, North-West and North-East are represented in the Supreme Court.

“While the South-South and North-East have two serving justices, the North-West and South-West are fully represented with three each.

“Appropriate steps could have been taken since to fill outstanding vacancies in the apex court. Why have these steps not been timeously taken?

“It is evident that the decision not to fill the vacancies in the court is deliberate. It is all about the absolute powers vested in the office of the CJN and the responsible exercise of same,” the justice continued.

Remarking at the valedictory session, the CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, acknowledged that while the Supreme Court is now having the lowest justices in its history (10 instead of 21), Dattijo will be remembered for his intellectual prowess.

It is noteworthy to state that Justice Dattijo is not new to the Supreme Court bench nor in the Nigerian judiciary having clocked over four decades in active service, an achievement which even the CJN Ariwoola acknowledged in his remarks at that valedictory session, when he said: “Dattijo will be remembered for his intellectual prowess.”

However, the issues raised by the retiring judge have continued to resonate in the polity, as Nigerians have now claimed that the body language displayed by Justice Dattijo may have informed his decision to recuse himself from the seven-man panel of judges headed by Justice Inyang Okoro, which last Thursday, reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu as duly elected in the February 25 election, despite damning evidence tendered by the appellants; Atiku and Obi challenging the judgement delivered in September  by the PEPT which had also cleared the President of all charges.

Announcing Dattijo’s retirement last Sunday in a statement, the Court Spokesperson, Festus Akande disclosed that a valedictory court session would be held in his honour, Friday, October 27.

 “The valedictory court session to mark the retirement of Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad from the Supreme Court Bench comes up on Friday, 27th October, 2023 at the Main Courtroom of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

“The Special Court Session is to be presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, who will customarily, pay tribute to Justice Musa Dattijo alongside other major stakeholders in the nation’s justice sector.

“Justice Musa Dattijo who hails from Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, was born on Tuesday, October 27, 1953, in Minna.

“He took the oath of office as Justice of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 10th July 2012. His ascension to the Court of Appeal was more of a reward for hard work, inherent passion for his chosen profession, dedication to duty, and above all, a resolute application of the law in its true letters and words to all cases that came to him.

“He earned a well-deserved elevation to the Court of Appeal on 21st November 1998 from the Niger State Judiciary, and served meritoriously at different Divisions,” Akande said in a statement.

Justice Muhammad’s timing is also said to be auspicious, coming barely a day after the Supreme Court judgement.

Justice Muhammad who was originally listed in the bench of the Supreme Court seven-man panel to rule on the appeals filed by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi challenging President Tinubu’s election, withdrew himself citing retirement concerns.

The Supreme Court in its ruling, in Abuja, Thursday, dismissed the appeals by Atiku and Obi as lacking merit in their claims of fraud, electoral law violations, and Tinubu’s ineligibility to run for president.

The apex court dismissed all the grounds of appeal of Atiku and PDP on qualification, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the 25 per cent votes in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and electoral malpractices.

The apex court also affirmed that other panel members agreed with the lead judgment delivered by John Okoro, in dismissing Atiku’s appeal and challenging the judgment of the presidential petition tribunal.

It would be recalled that Mr. Obi had last month filed 51 grounds of appeal before the Supreme Court to invalidate the affirmation delivered by the PEPT in September on President Bola Tinubu’s victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1, 2023 in the February 25 presidential poll.

Obi argued in his appeal that the PEPT erred in law and hence reached an erroneous decision when it denied his petition to contest the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.

Among other things, he claimed that the five-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Haruna Tsammani committed a grievous miscarriage of justice against him by ruling that he did not specify voting units where anomalies occurred during the election.

He informed the Supreme Court that the panel had wrongfully disregarded his claim that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had posted 18, 088 obscured results to its IReV platform.

Furthermore, he claimed that the tribunal ignored his claim that certified true copies of documents issued by INEC to his legal team consisted of 8,123 blurred results containing blank A4 papers, pictures, and images of unknown persons, purporting to be the CTC of polling unit results of the presidential election.

Similarly, the PDP candidate, Atiku had also filed a notice of appeal predicated on 35 grounds, as he insisted that the tribunal committed a grave error and miscarriage of justice in its findings and conclusion in its petition challenging the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Tinubu as President.

Atiku then further tendered more documents obtained from the Chicago State University (CSU) in the United States to back his claims of perjury and forgery against Tinubu. The fresh documents were, however, dismissed by the apex court justices.

Interestingly, it has also been reported that Justice Dattijo had declined the planned valedictory session organised by the Supreme Court in his honour, but was persuaded by family and friends, who warned him that failure to bow out in honour was tantamount to accepting defeat.

Public interest and human rights lawyer, Mr Inibehe Effiong while reacting via his Twitter (now X) handle, (@InibeheEffiong), Friday, opined that going by the ‘fact that the retired Justice spoke so intensely about the decay in the Judiciary should make any serious country to have a conversation about it.’

“You can feel his pains by merely reading his speech. He retired as a very sad man.

“He said he didn’t want a valedictory session in his honour. He said he wanted to exit quietly but his family prevailed on him to accept it as rejecting it will be defeatist.

“He said the judiciary he is exiting from is not the same judiciary he wanted to identify with when he joined the Bench. He spoke about corruption and nepotism among other issues,” said Mr Effiong.

Below are the reactions of Nigerians as captured  by Oracle Today:

Brother Barth (@brotherbarth) wrote:

IN PROVERBS WE HAVE BEEN TOLD WHAT JUSTICE OKORO AND CO. DID.

1. Justice Musa Dattijo has proverbially told Nigerians that what Justice Okoro and Co. did on Oct. 26, 2023 was a corruption-procurement.

2. He used the Lawan and Uzodimma’s cases to plot the graph.

3. Soon it…

Osaro PhD, HIV. (@official_osasb7) wrote:

Judiciary Bulchachuwaed Nigeria

Sunkingn(@sunkingcsn) wrote:

Judgement is not justice

DISTINGUISHED KPMG LinkedIn Everest (@novieverest) wrote:

Buhari, Tinubu, and the APC destroyed every institution in Nigeria.

Be it the Judiciary, CBN, or DSS, just name it.

The CJN hailed Makinde and Wike’s group and praised them for their integrity. Very terrible.

(@Uchendustanley4) wrote:

thanks to Obi for exposing the rot in the Judiciary

Achieve SDGs (@AchieveSdgs) wrote:

This is another medicine after death crap…. If Justice Dattijo Muhammadi was not satisfied with the way things were going in the judiciary, he would have protested with a resignation letter.

He should take a plate of the blame on the decadence in the Judiciary.

kuls kuls (@kulskuls4) wrote:

The justice left a stronger statement which the CJN and other members need to resolve.

Abdulrazaq Momoh. (@AbdRazaqMomoh) wrote:

Who will build the Judiciary the same man that use affidavit or forged papers that they confirmed original. May God heal Nigeria.

MitÈproF#AllEyesontheJudiciary (@ProfMite) wrote:

All of them laslas are all part of the rot. When he didn’t speak up when he could, he’s now speaking after the deed had been done. Story for the gods. Awon oloriburuku gbogbo…ofo lo ma se…

Kingsley Ikem LP (@A1Kingwise) wrote:

But why wouldn’t all these people cry out from the onset while in office?