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Timi Frank
By Adeolu Adeyefa
Nigerians legitimately doubt the integrity of their national institutions. Experience of open defecation on sacred public bodies erodes confidence. The shameless and crude bending of rules scares even the most patriotic. Yet Mr Timi Frank got it wrong in his recent multi-million dollar allegations against the Supreme Court on the Osun guber matter.
Let me start by declaring my interest, that I am a passionate democrat who holds democracy in the most supreme of respect. Any institution that attempts to subvert the will of the people is therefore my number one enemy and all advocates of democracy are my role models. Frank’s constant jibes against anti-democratic forces are justifiably right on several other cases. In this matter of Osun guber disputes and the Supreme Court, I differ from him because he misreads the mood of my Lord Justices.
Osun governorship is a moral compass for which the judiciary wants to be judged. The annoyance across the ranks of the judiciary on the Tribunal judgement was evident even among justices considered allied to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Not only was the lower Court erred on point of law, it dragged the image of the judiciary in the mud by displaying amateurish statements and conduct. The Kume ruling was considered a regrettable output across the bar and the bench as it constitutes an open threat to national democratic existence and amounts to planting of a time bomb capable of destroying the little national democratic gains.
It was not for fun that the Court of Appeal furiously reversed the ruling and imposed fines. The Appeal Court descended heavily on the Kume team because it seeks to preserve the integrity and honor of the judiciary. The erudite Chairman of the Appeal panel minced no words in castigating the unprofessional conduct of his colleagues at the lower Court. With benefits of hindsight, the appeal court deployed the judgement to achieve multiple purposes namely to correct miscarriage of justice, to save the electoral process premised on voters registers and BVAs machine and to signal to the world the birth of a new judiciary.
The nation needs to take note of certain fundamental facts about what happened at the Appeal Court. First, the appeal court demonstrated that the judiciary has the capacity to shun inducement and stand on the side of law and the people. It shows that the Court is fed up with its stigmatization as a corrupt institution and is prepared to even rebuke its own for justice and equity to prevail. And to demonstrate its seriousness, the judgement was unanimous and strongly water tight with lines to make the task of the Supreme Court easy. Osun guber case is primed as a cleansing ritual, hence the outcome signaled the rebirth of the judiciary and a new tone of justice for the wronged ones.
It is hard to believe but the judiciary has moved on since the calamity of Imo judgment on Hope Nzodima. The Supreme Court of then is not what is obtained now. The stiff punishment of justices involved and the darkening of their career path warn against any similar unprofessional conduct. The judicial leadership is also afraid of being tagged in history as the reason why democracy failed. Strangely , the much touted power of money has given way to new thinking of even bigger returns when the right thing is done. The possibility of condemnation into eternal rebuke in the court of public opinion has changed the attitudes of even the worst of justices at the apex and other courts.
But for the rebirth of the judiciary, Binani of Adamawa would have secured injunction against Governor Fintiri. Millions in dollar and Euro denominations were rejected because the court stuck to democracy. They realized clearly that any compromise can ignite a national calamity. No judicial official wants to bear the generational curse of being the cause of intractable conflict over exhaustible bribe money. At this delicate stage of the nation’s political life, judicial officers have transcended the conscienceless drama of the past and are embracing the new tone of the stabilizer of national democracy.
For the Supreme Court, the Osun matter is even more delicate and complex as it has a history for which the apex court was part of. The experience of 2018 and 2019 litigation is still fresh in the minds of Nigerians. That Adeleke won and was robbed was widely televised and debated even as the Court eventually sided with the usurper who was eventually voted out by the people in 2022. Osun matter is a national and international electoral contest which attracts the focus of people from local and global audiences. No judge will attempt any technicality as a ground for denying the people the materialisation of their will as the backlash will be so indescribable. No judge will enthrone a man who lost three major elections in a row because of any supposed inducement.
In the case of Osun, Adeleke demonstrated his win of July 16th, 2022 was not a fluke by winning three consequent elections. It is therefore elementary to assume that no judicial officer will attempt to incur the wrath of God and man by upturning the choice of the people. No amount of dollars can compensate for the destruction such an act will bring on such an officer and his descendants from God and the people. Hence, the efforts of desperate politicians which Mr Frank referred to cannot outweigh the urge for self -preservation among the lord justices.
I am therefore of the view that Mr Frank was too harsh on the justices. They are not purchasable commodities. They are not judicial leaders without integrity. They are not hungry officers willing to sell their career of more than five decades for a pot of porridge. They are leaders of conscience who know how significant the Osun matter has become in judging the credibility of the political process.
We cannot therefore engage in blanket condemnation consigning the apex court to the dustbin of corruption. We cannot be right to think that errors of the past cannot be corrected with a cleansing action proving critics wrong. If the Appeal Court can act so rightly to the applause of all, we should be fair enough to expect an even more equitable handling of the Appeal at the apex court. If the Appeal panel can shun bribery and upheld the law, why should we doubt the capacity and the willingness of the Supreme Court to abide by the law and shun external pressure?
As much as I agree with the need for eternal vigilance, we should not forget that not everyone has a price. In times of national emergency as Nigeria is today, even the most corrupt can emerge a hero, placing national interest above selfish acquisitive greed. In several instances, armed robbers even spare some victims. For the Osun matter, this is one case I am convinced will elicit the endorsement of the Appeal Court ruling by the lord justices at the apex court.
Adeyefa writes from Kubwa, Abuja
