• There’s no judicial gang-up against anti-graft war, says CJN
Omololu Ogunmade and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Despite the string of losses suffered at the courts recently, the federal government has said it will not be deterred by the recent setbacks in the war against corruption and has also called on Nigerians to adopt the same spirit in the crusade against graft.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said government would seek redress against all rulings at the Court of Appeal.
He also disclosed that all the judgments were being rigorously reviewed to determine if there were errors on government’s part or if it was the victim of mischief.
“The war against corruption is going to be long, tough and arduous, but this administration is equipped, physically, mentally and intellectually, for the long haul.
“We must win this war because the law is on our side, the people are on our side and God is on our side. This is only the beginning, so any setbacks will not deter nor discourage us,” Mohammed said.
He appealed to Nigerians to continue to identify with what he described as a titanic struggle, adding: “This is not Buhari’s war. It is Nigeria’s war of liberation from poverty, misery, sickness and wretchedness.”
The minister reckoned that Nigeria could not afford unnecessary technicalities in the war against corruption, given the adverse and devastating consequences of corruption on the polity.
He said Nigerians would appreciate the grave and dire consequences of corruption when they consider that the $9.2 million stashed away by Andrew Yakubu, the former Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) in a village house in Southern Kaduna, was enough to finance the construction of one health centre in each of the 774 local governments in Nigeria, in addition to funding the centres for one year.
“Against this background, one can therefore imagine what Nigeria could have achieved with the $20 billion that was estimated to have been looted in the last three years of the immediate past administration, either in the areas of jobs creation or infrastructure development.
“The government is therefore more determined than ever to recover as much of this plundered funds as possible and use them to put our youths back to work, fix our roads and other infrastructure, equip our hospitals and universities and invest in electricity in order to bring our industries back to life and bring back some level of comfort to our homes and offices,” he said.
Also, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, on Tuesday dismissed as untrue the perception that the anti-graft crusade was not yielding desired results.
He also exonerated the judiciary of any blame in the setbacks suffered by the federal government.
Onnoghen, who made this remark while answering questions from State House correspondents after paying a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, said he was resolute and committed to the anti-graft war.
“Personally, I am committed to that fight and it remains so. I remain resolute in that commitment,” the CJN stated.
The CJN, who was asked why the anti-corruption war at the courts appeared to be losing steam under his leadership arising from the government’s losses, dismissed the notion as untrue.
He said Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy where the principles of checks and balances apply and hence, “there are procedures to be followed in the crusade”.
He explained, however, that the fight against corruption did not come up in his discussion with the president.
“You take that as losing steam? If there was loss of steam, then it wouldn’t have been without the participation of the judiciary. So if there is loss of steam, you should not equally relate it only to the judiciary. The fight against corruption has lost no steam. That is not correct.
“Now, you should know one thing: two people will always have a quarrel. They may be three or four or 100 people as witnesses.
“All the parties to that quarrel will always have different stories to tell. By the way, our system is fashioned and designed and operated, when you go to a court of law, you cannot have a draw in the game. There must be a winner and there must be a loser.
“In our system, a loser has the chance of appealing to the highest court eventually. So you cannot say that because the government or any agency has lost a case in the high court, the fight is losing steam.
“You should realise that there is a constitution in place and under the constitution, there is the rule of law. So every system under a constitutional arrangement operates under the rule of law which must have the checks and balances to protect everyone,” he said.
Onnoghen also denied allegations of a judicial gang-up against the executive in the anti-graft war arising from the ongoing trial of some judges, saying such insinuations were speculative and devoid of facts.
“I am not going to speculate. I am a lawyer and judicial officer. I operate on facts and the law. So I cannot answer that question because I am not on everybody’s mind.
“You are free to think whatever you want to think but I think you should be guided by facts and the law when it comes to judicial performance or discharge of judicial responsibilities,” he said.
When asked if he was satisfied with the way the anti-corruption war was currently being fought, Onnoghen evaded the question, pointing out that anyone who was not satisfied with the outcome of his/her case in court was free to appeal the judgment.
The CJN explained that he had visited the president to welcome Buhari back home from his medical vacation in London after the initial appointment was stalled by other events.
“I am here to welcome him back home. I have not had the opportunity of doing so since his return from his medical leave. That’s because I had some international engagements.
“By the time the appointment was due, I was out of the country attending the Commonwealth Law Conference in Australia. I came back and could not get another appointment before going to attend the African Chief Justices Conference in Khartoum where we met to fashion out a way forward for the African judiciary, particularly the establishment of the African Court of Justice.
“I came back last week Wednesday. Fortunately, today happens to be the day I had the opportunity to see Mr. President and welcomed him back home and then also to thank him for the confidence reposed in me to head the judiciary of this great nation.
“And as I have always said, I am committed to that job and to the good of this nation under the rule of law,” he said.
