IMMUNITY BY ILLEGAL MEANS: JUSTICE OBASEKI’S SHAMELESS SUBVERSION OF THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

Justice Obaseki’s disgraceful ruling shows clearly that there is something dubious about the commitment of some senior members of the Judiciary to the fight against corruption. Her late Uncle, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, Andrews Otutu Obaseki, JSC, would turn in his grave at the shenanigans of his niece.
When he died earlier this year he was unanimously described as having lived a life of integrity, and left behind a solid legacy, worthy of emulation by all and sundry. Alas the same cannot be said of his niece.
By this decision, Justice Obaseki-Adejumo has used the back door to confer immunity on High Court Judges. That they can only be tried when they are no longer Judges, or only after the National Judicial Council (NJC) has already convicted them. You have heard of the proverb that says something to the effect that Turkeys will never vote for Christmas. Too often, sadly, the NJC has demonstrated that it is more interested in shielding corrupt Judges from facing justice, than it is in preserving the sanctity and integrity of the Bench. The 1999 Constitution grants immunity ONLY to the President, VP, and Governors!!
This Obaseki-Adejumo Judgement must not be allowed to stand. It is good that the EFCC is appealing at the Supreme Court. But Nigerians must also with one voice condemn and reject it, and make it clear to the likes of Justice Obaseki-Adejumo that there is no room in today’s Nigeria for disgraceful rulings like this. And there should be no place in Nigeria’s Courts for Judges who exploit their positions to pervert the course of justice and drag the reputation of the judiciary in the mud.
Please share this widely, let as many Nigerians as possible be aware of what we’re up against: Corrupt judges shielding one another, and dragging an entire country back into the dark ages of lawlessness.