By Dr. Dikko Muhammad
I’m surprised that some people find the said letter of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi surprising. The fact is that many Nigerians see the courts as departments for the pursuance of politicians’ interest and more often, as stalls for the sale of “justice” to the highest bidder. And they have reasons to believe so. Why?
Senator Bulkachuwa told the Senate, on camera, that his wife, a former President of the Nigerian Court of Appeal, “extended her help to his colleagues” while in office.
A recently retired justice of the Supreme Court complained a lot of its workings. Not to mention the complaints against the top Oga of the Supreme Court who once led other justices to complain against the former top Oga of the Supreme Court.
Series of conflicting judgments are becoming a defining feature of ours courts.
The idea of the court as an umpire is fast becoming extinct. If any unknown backbencher politician wants me lock up tomorrow, being Sunday, don’t be surprised for the lines of judges ready to grant his request.
Where justice is delayed and denied, fears and favours determining verdicts, faith in the court is eroded. This is why our country has become a planet of jungle justice. People think that the courts are haven for criminals. The densely populated prisons in Nigeria are a repulsive testimony to the putrid stench of our entire judicial system.
So, it’s now left for our courts to either redeem their battered image or continue to sink into the abys. They’re designed to be the last refuge for the oppressed, not a refuse for the oppressor. If writing a letter would make it deliver justice, we should all be letter writers to the Supreme Court.
Dikko writes from Katsina State, Nigeria.