One thing that has been so common and synonymous with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is the fight against corruption. While this happens to be the priority of his administration , the question of fighting corruption without
clearing up the mess in the Judiciary comes in mind. How can his administration claim to fight corruption and arrest and try suspects in a system ( Judiciary) which is even much more corrupt than other institutions. Can a thief try and convict a thief ? It smells of hypocrisy and propaganda to the least if such happens.
Every Nigerian will tell you the most corrupt institutions in the country are Police, Customs, PHCN etc, rarely will one mention the Judiciary. The reason is that while every Nigerian in one time or the other must have had an experience with the Police or PHCN over a life time, the court is where most Nigerians never visit for a life time, hence the reason the rot in the Judiciary has been hidden for long . Less people deal with the judiciary unlike Police, hence less exposure to bribery, but the few who do deal with the Judiciary have unending tales of series of corruption, bribery and grafts.
To understand better, to swear an affidavit at the court, one will have to pay much more than the stipulated amount which goes into private purse. In Nigeria today , people who steal billions of public funds are released and acquitted on plea bargain and asked to pay back a pittance, while those who steal birds and goats are reprimanded in prison and given long sentences with hard labour to serve as a deterrent to potential goal thieves. Yet there is no judgement whatsoever to deter people from financial and electoral corruptions. The Solution to corruption in Nigeria does not rest on arrest of the corrupt or indictment, rather the Solution solemnly rests on "Delivering Solid Judgement based on the weight and delivering it in time and not 4 years after the fact and ensure no one goes through the next no matter his or her political or financial size. The case for the overhaul of the Judicial System is strengthened when one reckons the statement of the former Chief Justice of The Federation Justice Katsina Alu when he admitted that the Nations Judiciary's cup is half empty with respect to integrity, while speaking at the swearing in of 8 Abuja High Court Judges.
The present administration therefore cannot fight corruption with the rot in the present Judicial System. Who will try the suspects or accused? Isn't it the same corrupt judges who mobilise and bribe to be made members of election tribunals which is the quickest way to make billions as a result of bribes from prosecution and defence teams. For example just this year alone more than 10 former governors namely Lamido Sanushi(Jigawa), Murtala Nyarko( Adamawa), Chimaroke Nnamani(Enugu) to mention but a few have all been arraigned with incriminating and clear evidence by the EFCC only to see the accused released with little amount for bail. The strength of the EFCC or police in arraigning or arresting of these corrupt individuals solemnly rests on the shoulders of the Judiciary, hence the weaker the Judiciary the weaker these institutions will appear. The EFCC cannot arrest try and convict an accused or suspect alone, the final powers rests on the Judiciary and this power has been severally abused for decades.
The present administration will only be deceiving itself in it's fight against corruption if it fails to accept and overhaul the Judiciary for a more effective discharge of service. If this doesn't happen then the fight against corruption by the Buhari Administration is only existent on paper or social media and is non
existent empirically.
Whatever it takes the Judicial System has to be effectively cleared up before any tangible progress is made by the President and unless that is done , every other anti corruption activity are all lies and deceit .
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