By Kolawole Ojebisi
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, has explained why Judges should turn down monetary and other gifts from sitting State governors, serving ministers and other prominent politicians in the country.
Osigwe noted that it is unconstitutional for members of the cabinet or governors to be giving gifts to judges.
The NBA president spoke on Friday during Politics HQ, a programme on News Central TV.
Osigwe noted that the executive arm of government has no business directly providing the judiciary with its needs, noting that such gestures undermine the autonomy of judges.
He urged the judiciary to decline acts of “benevolence,” emphasising that judges must not condone practices with potential hidden agendas.
“In any situation where a governor gathers judges or brings a chief judge or any person whatsoever to display to the public that he’s giving them cars as if he’s doing them a favour, it is condemnable,” he said.
“It is unconstitutional, it is demeaning, and it takes away from the independence of the judiciary. No member of the executive should do that for the judiciary. The judiciary should be able to manage its budget and acquire what it needs without being subjected to these public displays that diminish its independence.
“The executive cannot go to the legislature or judiciary seeking gifts. If judicial needs are budgeted items, they should be handled within the framework of judicial independence.
“Anything outside of this demeans the institution. Such acts of benevolence must be rejected; they should not tolerate practices that could have ulterior motives, whether or not such motives are apparent.”
The NBA president also called for an end to the notion of what he called the executives being seen as a “big brother” to the judiciary in determining what it gets.
He added that budgetary allocations for the judiciary should go through proper channels and must not be handed out like gifts, which according to him, is “humiliating” and “takes away from their independence”.
The NBA president’s comments came months after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, announced the construction of quarters for judges in Abuja.
Recall that in September, Wike flagged off the construction of 40 houses for judges in Abuja, which sparked a public outrage.
Prominent among those who criticised the minister for his action was human rights activist, Femi Falana and notable legal Scholar and professor of Law, Chidi Odinkalu.
Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria(SAN) described the move as unconstitutional urging judges to reject the “Greek gifts”.
But defending his decision, Wike said 20 of the houses, when completed, would be allocated to judges of the FCT high court, while 10 would be given to the judges of the federal high court and 10 to those of the court of appeal.
He, however, denied the claim that the houses were being constructed to pocket the judges for political gains.
The minister said the construction of homes for judges is part of President Bola Tinubu’s welfare packages designed to promote the independence of the judiciary.
