Justice Mohammed Mahmud was penultimate week, appointed as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). He is one of the many justices of Northern extraction to occupy such exalted position in the recent times. Even though there are muted agitations for a change, not many are willing to speak out. But Mr. Richard Chukwuocha, a legal practitioner and Partner in RichardDenning LP in this interview with JOSEPH ONYEKWERE, examines the issue.
He also spoke about the CBN policy on ATM cash withdrawals as well as the 2015 general elections.
NORTHERNERS have been occupying the position of Chief Justice of Nigeria, especially with appointment of Mahmud as Mukhtarís successor. What is your reaction?
The northerners are promoted to the bench at a younger age unlike the southerners, where people move to the bench well advanced in practice. The hierarchy on the bench is based on date of appointment as opposed to the date of call to the bar.
For instance, if I was called to the bar 20 years ago and there is another person, who was called after but was elevated to the bench before me, he has automatically become my senior. Itís the date of appointment to the bench that determines seniority. And on the bench, itís seniority that regulates stratification. In other words, the most senior judge becomes the administrative judge, Chief Judge or President of Court of Appeal as the case may be. So, due to the fact that the Northerners get to the bench younger than people from the South, it becomes possible for them to occupy such positions. We have a number of CJNís from the South who stayed two months and six months in the office before their retirement. This does not make sense! If you have been a judge of the High Court and opportunity came for you to be elevated to the upper bench and you know that you are close to the age of retirement, the best thing is to hold back for a younger person to go. When you accept that offer, you have blocked the opportunity for a younger person attaining the position. That is where the Northerners have advantage over us, the Southerners. This is why, when you come to judiciary hierarchy, you discover that the Northerners have been occupying the CJN for a long time and will continue to do so until the Southerners decide to address the issue and begin to move younger lawyers to the bench. This would afford them the opportunity to grow to either the position of Chief Justice of Federation or the President of Court of Appeal or even the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. In fact, there are other Northern senior justices after Mahmud, so the trend will still continue. I canít remember the last time, when a Southern Judge became the Chief judge of the High Court. Itís a big problem!
How can the trend be reversed in the long term?
We need to understand that there is problem and begin to deal with it squarely by going to the root, otherwise, we will miss it. Until people from the Southern part of Nigeria come together and realise that they need to vie for and occupy high offices like CJN, either in the judicial system or otherwise, this trend would continue unabated. The older ones should allow the younger ones to go in. Itís not all about self. Until we become selfless, changes wonít happen. Law is not about self, itís all about the people.
What are the legal requirements for appointment into the bench?
To qualify, you must have spent 10 years in the bar. So, when there is an opportunity to fill a vacancy in the high court, if you are available, then you apply. Until people are encouraged to apply early, the trend will not change. Younger lawyers should be given priority when such applications are made. There was a chairman of the NBA that was appointed at an advanced age. Then, I asked, of what importance is he to the judiciary system because he obviously will make minimal impact before his retirement? How many years are left for him? He should have allowed the younger lawyer to go in.
Donít you think those judges want to attain certain height before retiring?
That is why I said we must be objective in things we do. We are not objective. Donít think about self, think about the people you represent! That is very important because you donít have enough time to even make a solid impact. Possibly, you deliver a number of judgments and you are retired, but if you have a younger lawyer in the bench, he has more time to spend and with time he acquires experience and grow on the job. Justice Oputa went to the bench early enough and he delivered a number of cases and made much impact.
Do you foresee any problem if the trend continues unabated?
No, I donít think so. It doesnít portend any danger for the country. Judiciary is guarded by law. Irrespective of any zone anybody comes from, his duty is to interpret the law. Law is not sectional. It doesnít portend any danger but we are all human beings.
How do you welcome the reintroduction of N65 ATM service fee by Central Bank of Nigeria?
I believe that Nigerians should challenge CBNís N65 ATM service fee. Itís not proper. The action amounts to inconsistency of policy. If CBN saw that the policy wasnít good and abolished it, why should it be reinstated? When it was scrapped, Nigerians jubilated but emergence of Emefiele re-introduced it for nothing, with a peg that after the third free withdrawals, the service fee is applied for using another bankís ATM. This is policy inconsistency.
Now, you and I know that a lot of ATMs donít work. You go to another, it says no network and you are forced to go to other banks’ ATM. Why do I have to pay for a course that is not entirely my making? Itís not proper, we might think is nothing, but add up N65 per a thousand people and you will appreciate what Nigerians are being reaped off. Worse, still, the CBNís Act imposed an obligation upon the Nigerian litigants, who would want to sue it for certain unpopular policies, to first prove bad faith before they could sue CBN or its board. This clause shields CBN from doing what it likes. That shouldnít be, because Section 3b of the Nigerian constitution gives aggrieved Nigerians right to sue and get justice but when you put an added burden on the man to prove bad fate, on the part of government policy, it becomes difficult. With such clause, you are telling the aggrieved to do his worse. Itís improper. As long as Iím concerned, that law is unpopular in so far that it abuses the rights of Nigerians to seek redress. Itís unconstitutional and such CBN Act should be challenged and repealed.
Can activist lawyers spearhead the challenge of this policy judicially?
The only thing I would say is for the public to go to court and seek a scrap of the CBNís Act that seeks to shield them from being sued for whatever they do wrong by placing an obligation on the people to prove bad faith. I wish that such Act should be brought to the court and declared unconstitutional and be stricken out to give the people access to challenge CBNís policies in the court. There is no doubt that Nigerians are unhappy for the imposition of that tariff. Itís a reap-off. Nigerians are complaining.
2015 general election is fast approaching and bombs are being detonated everywhere in the country. What are your fears for Nigeria?
I really donít know where to start from or where to end. For we know that Nigeria needs a lot to be done that havenít been done. There shouldnít be power outage in Nigeria of today. We shouldnít be losing lives on our bad roads for any reason. Nigeria of today ought to have reliable rail transport in order to decongest the roads. If we have different means of transportation, we shouldnít be wasting resources and lives on the roads. With that, everybody decides which means of transportation that suits his business ñ land, water, rail and air. If these happen, movement will be easier and people will achieve more. But what happens here is that everybody is forced to follow road because there is no other means of transportation and the roads are jammed. Unfortunately, our leaders donít feel the heat because they use siren to clear the roads when moving. Siren should be withdrawn from everybody, including government and politicians so that all of us will suffer the effect of the bad roads so that the policymakers would make right policies. I heard that automatic tickets have been given to governors and leaders in PDP to return. Return to do what? It means that people are not judged by their performance rather they are judged by their willingness to help somebody, somewhere to achieve one political ambition or the other. It doesnít make sense at all. They should be judged by their ability to perform as opposed to ability to return one person to the political position. Bombs are rocking the entire country and there is no serious measures set in motion to arrest these. There is much to be worried about in the country because our leaders have failed us.
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