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By Maduka Nweke
And, that those conflicts do not overwhelm or undermine the civil society that allows for the continuing vibrancy of those debates in furtherance of our democratic traditions.
Judiciary is as commonly said, the last hope of the common man. This is when and only when the judges live up to the billing which is symbolized by a woman tied with a black clock with a knife to kill any offender brought to her irrespective of who the person is. The rule of law provides confidence that what is true today will still be true tomorrow. It undergirds the resilience necessary to absorb the inevitable shocks any political system faces. While our system of checks and balances plays an important role in ensuring this stability and balance in our system, it is the courts that have the ultimate responsibility for maintaining this through preservation of the Rule of Law.
Indeed, it is the accountability of our system of laws and their interpretation and upholding by our courts local, state, and federal which have provided the continuity, consistency, and progress for our nation. And it has helped to differentiate this history from the turbulent records of so many other nations of the world by shielding us from authoritarian and anti-democratic actions. In recent times, the above assertion about the judiciary has eroded in such a way that in our nation, the right and justice of the judiciary is circumvented and has become a porridge for the highest bidder. This, therefore throws the poor man into the bin of who are you and who do you know that can speak for you? It has also become a market you go to with your pocket filled to the brim with hard currency with readiness to intimidate those with less cash to spare.
The vault of the judiciary when opened could keep any nation together or mar and break any nation. The rule of law should be the last hope of the aggrieved where he feels that the learned, experienced lords will close their eyes and see the truth without thinking who is involved but how to better the fortunes of the people and thereby make the society a better place for all. Nigeria as a nation has been bedeviled with a lot of injustices, marginalization, corruption, insecurities, poverty and all have you. These are perennial problems that under an ideal civil society, any nation will be gearing to finding solutions to ending the anomaly. In this regard, the pronouncement of the courts in this area ends whatever controversy or disagreements that may be the issue. The fact that the courts reserve the verdict in any case brought to it indicates that it can as well quell the confusion in the society or aggravate it.
The 2023 general election created a new vista in the annals of election in the country. The spirit of ‘this is my country, so I must contribute in making the king this time round’ increased. No doubt, the youths came all out defying all negative projections and forcing their way to collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC), and not only collecting the PVC, they helped the INEC to sensitize the public on the importance of voting. Although, INEC seemed overwhelmed in the discharge of the activities assigned them by creating a lot of loopholes and vacuums, the youths did not bulge. Despite the intimidations, mentally and physically, they vowed to move the country forward by their votes. They did not do that with mouth alone, they followed INEC with technology to make sure nothing is given to chance. It was bomber to bomber. The youths felt that after all their efforts to redirect the compass of the nation, it is improper for INEC to be the one that capsized the boat they have paddled close to shore.
Despite their level of disappointment they maintained the calmness with a hope that there is the court where the opportunity to lay the complaints is provided. It is in this regard that every Dick, Tom and Harry appeals to the judiciary to remember that the fate of the nation is currently in their hands. They can make the redirection come to pass or they can help in destroying the nation the more and eventually have 100% of nothing. Judicial misconduct breaks down the very fibre of what is necessary for a functional judiciary and for citizens who believe their judges are fair and impartial. The judiciary cannot exist without the trust and confidence of the people. Judges must, therefore, be accountable to legal and ethical standards. In holding them accountable for their behaviour, judicial conduct review must be performed without invading the independence of judicial decision-making. This task can be daunting.
Nigeria’s election was largely lauded, until that Saturday February 25 as one of its most peaceful and best-organized votes. But this judgement did not outlive the pronouncement because the result that started coming from different states created accusations on INEC’s complicity in the fraudulent conduct of the election and people started seeing it as capable of plunging the country into a period of uncertainty that is likely to last weeks if not longer. In his gentlemanliness and humility, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi told his sea of supporters to remain calm, otherwise, the country would have turned into Sudan by now. He therefore decided to take his challenge to the courts, rather than the streets. This was seen as a relief to many Nigerians who feared that the action might spiral into violence.
Courts often have opportunities to affect the integrity of elections, even in authoritarian or semi-democratic settings. At times, these opportunities can be dramatic, as when the Ukrainian Supreme Court ordered a rerun of a vote in the 2004 presidential election following mass protests. Courts can influence election outcomes in more mundane ways as well. In civil cases, courts can register or deregister candidates for an election and adjudicate other claims of procedural unfairness. Nigeria is now learning from countries that should learn from us. That is the situation corruption and injustice led us to. Kenya corrected their mistakes and did the right thing without violence. Are we ready to do the right thing to avoid leading the nation astray?
It is therefore only logical and advisable for the Tribunal to think wisely and remember that it is better to save the future than to die with the history. It is only those who do not want posterity to remember them justly that will miscarry the judgement in the situation we found ourselves. In the situation we find ourselves, the Judiciary can remedy whatever anomalies we feel is too much. As it is today, the fate of the nation is in the hands of the Judiciary and the way and manner the situation is handled, will spell the future we want to bequeath to our children. It is better to give your children virtues that will lead them in life than to give them the money or wealth that will not endure. More than any other branch of government, the judiciary is built on a foundation of public faith. Judges do not command armies or police forces, they do not have the power of the purse to fund initiatives and they do not pass legislation. Instead, they make rulings on the law. Rulings that the people must believe came from competent, lawful and independent judicial officers.
Judicial misconduct comes in many forms and ethical standards address problematic actions, omissions and relationships that deplete public confidence. Common complaints of ethical misconduct include improper demeanour; failure to properly disqualify when the judge has a conflict of interest; engaging in ex parte communication and failure to execute their judicial duties in a timely fashion. Behaviour outside of the courtroom can also be at issue. Judicial conduct oversight should not attempt to regulate purely personal aspects of a judge’s life. However, a judge can commit misconduct by engaging in personal behaviour that calls their judicial integrity into question. This is true even if the same behaviour would merely be considered unwise for the average citizen. This is why the judges placed by God to be privileged to sit at the Tribunal and judge the irregularities of the 2023 Presidential Election should do the right thing. It may be the last opportunity God is giving him/her to use one single act to correct his/her past ways. What will it pay if the huge sum of money is given to you at the jeopardy of lives of millions of Nigerians. It does not also stop at that, it may also mean making the growing ones think that it is the right way.
Many codes of judicial conduct also include general language that urges judges to preserve the integrity of the judiciary and avoid even the appearance of impropriety. For example, the preamble to the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct in USA states that, “judges should maintain the dignity of the office at all times and avoid both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and personal lives.”
- Mr. Nweke is a Lagos based journalist
