The African Democratic Congress (ADC) condemns in the strongest terms the APC’s celebration of the commissioning of residential quarters for judges as a shameless, unethical and inappropriate spectacle that further erodes public confidence in the independence of the Judiciary.
Let it be clearly understood: judges deserve decent accommodation, adequate security and proper welfare. However; these must not be packaged as personal achievement of government officials or as favours from politicians. They are constitutional obligations of government funded by the Nigerian taxpayer.
The issue is therefore not the construction of the quarters in itself, but the dangerous impression of the Executive arm of government presenting itself as the benefactor of another constitutionally independent arm. Neither President Bola Tinubu nor Minister Nyesom Wike is therefore entitled to personal acclaim for discharging responsibilities financed from public funds.
What the APC has done, by awarding personal acclaim to both the President and his minister for building houses for judges is to create the impression that the welfare of judges is subject to the whims and caprice of government officials or to executive benevolence.
In every constitutional democracy governed by the principle of separation of powers, the Judiciary must never be placed in a position where its welfare can be publicly portrayed as a favour granted by political actors whose actions and interests may ultimately come before the courts.
What makes this development particularly troubling is the APC’s attempt to glorify President Tinubu and Minister Wike as patrons of the Judiciary. This action alone creates the unmistakable appearance that judicial welfare is dependent on executive benevolence rather than constitutional entitlement. It sends the wrong signal to Nigerians and inevitably raises legitimate concerns about the proper boundaries between the Executive and the Judiciary.
This is particularly disturbing given the widespread perception that the President and this particular minister, Wike already wield undue influence over the judiciary. The statement by the ruling party celebrating the duo can only give further credence to this belief. Afterall, he who pays the piper dictates the tune.
It is noteworthy that the APC attempted to portray the project as part of government efforts to strengthen judicial independence. This is an Orwellian irony. Judicial independence is not achieved by the number of buildings commissioned by politicians. Rather, it is measured by institutional autonomy, financial independence, security of tenure, freedom from political pressure and the confidence of citizens that judges are accountable only to the Constitution and the law.
In a political climate where election petitions, constitutional disputes and matters involving powerful government officials are routinely determined by the courts, public officials ought to exercise the highest degree of restraint. They must not position themselves as deserving of judicial gratitude. But, characteristically, APC has chosen to convert a public project into a partisan public relations exercise, thereby undermining the very perception of judicial neutrality that every democracy must zealously protect.
The ADC therefore views this partisan fanfare as a shameless assault on the spirit of separation of powers and an affront to the constitutional ideal of an independent Judiciary. Public institutions must never be transformed into monuments of political patronage or instruments for cultivating judicial gratitude.
The Judiciary belongs to the Nigerian people not to the APC, not to President Tinubu, and certainly not to any minister of government. The independence of the courts is too important to be sacrificed on the altar of political vanity and partisan self-congratulation.
The ADC also calls on the judiciary to be wary of the ethical implications of its relationship with the government. Already, the Nigerian Judiciary suffers a massive trust deficit. The public can only begin to trust in the courts again when judges stop putting themselves in a position that makes the people believe that they are beholden to a few individuals and not the law itself.
Signed:
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
National Publicity Secretary
African Democratic Congress (ADC)
