Should the judiciary, on the basis of an alleged bias that
is neither actual nor apparent but merely contrived,
disqualify an upright man who has served admirably in
the temple of justice for over forty years? Should a judge
who has served meritoriously on the Bench for twenty-
five years be subjected to caustic and malicious
persecution on phantom allegations of unsubstantiated
bias?
Nigerian politicians now seem to have a new stock-in-
trade: the politically-motivated smearing of judges with
the aim of ‘forum-shopping’. Forum-shopping is that
expression known in legal circles as referring to a litigant’s
attempt to determine (or, at least, have influence on) the
choice of the particular court or judge that will adjudge his
case. Every sane legal system discourages, and in some
cases, punishes forum-shopping.
Observers have watched with great concern and alarm,
the recent trend in Nigeria by which politicians attempt to
effectively ‘forum-shop’ by disqualifying certain judges on
the basis of politically-motivated smears and contrived or
outlandish conjectures. Of course, if a judge has
demonstrably substantial interest in a matter, he should
not sit in judgement over this. But to seek out to smear
and, by so doing, effectively disqualify judges on the basis
of the affiliation of their relatives with certain political
parties, or on the basis of their assumed loyalty to tribal
sentiments, or on the basis of their perceived loyalty to
political leaders from their states of origin, borders on the
ridiculous, reeks of desperation, and should not only be
discouraged but condemned in the strongest terms
possible.
I am motivated to put pen to paper on this matter because
of the appalling opinions and sentiments that have been
expressed regarding the selection of the Supreme Court
panel put together to hear the appeal emanating from the
Court of Appeal’s decision on the Osun State election
petition brought by the candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party in that election, Senator Ademola
Adeleke. The most vitriolic smears have been directed at
Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour (CFR), the impeccable
justice of the Supreme Court, who has a pristine record as
a brilliant, capable, and fair-minded judge. Every unbiased
legal practitioner in Nigeria worth his salt would readily
attest to Justice Rhodes-Vivour’s sagacity, brilliance, and
earned reputation for courage and forthrightness. It is thus
sad and disheartening that unfounded aspersions are now
being cast on this widely-admired jurist.
While one should rightly feel concerned for the eminent
jurist, the greater concern should be reserved for the
implications of these conducts on the health and integrity
of our systems and institutions. We all must rise as a
people to denounce and abort the efforts of politicians
who attack judges for political gains for the following
reasons, among others:
a. Such attacks will further erode confidence in our
institutions in general and in the legal system in particular;
b. Such gradual erosion of confidence will have long term
and far-reaching devastating effects on the cohesion of
the nation, the effectiveness of our institutions and,
indeed, the survival of our democracy;
c. Politically-motivated attacks on judges and the resulting
erosion of confidence in the judiciary will allow political
disputes of a legal character to fester and remain
unresolved. This could be dangerous in a country as
diverse and as susceptible to violent eruptions as ours;
and
d. Our judiciary will be starved of the best of legal minds
who will not want to be subjected to such unwarranted
mudslinging and embarrassing falsehoods.
Of course, allegations of bias should be taken seriously.
The fundamental principle underlying the concept of
judicial bias is that a man may not be a judge in his own
case. To this end, there are two recognised types of bias:
actual bias and apparent bias. There will be actual bias
where the judge is a party to the litigation or has a
financial or other interests in its outcome. The interest
does not have to be pecuniary or proprietary but can
involve the promotion of a cause. Apparent bias may be
alleged where the judge’s conduct or behaviour, interests
or allegiances give rise to a suspicion that he is not
impartial.
In the case of Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour (CFR), the
bias alleged so far by innuendoes on social media is
neither actual nor apparent. At best, it may be described
as contrived and, at worst, as phantom. The 68-year-old
justice of the Supreme Court who started his career in the
Lagos State Ministry of Justice and was appointed a judge
in the Lagos State Judiciary in 1994 has, throughout his
illustrious career, exhibited exceptional devotion to duties
and established an unimpeachable reputation for candour,
both of which have stood him in good stead, so much that
his nominations and subsequent appointment to the Court
of Appeal and later to the Supreme Court were greeted
with widespread acceptance in legal circles. There has
never been a proven allegation of impropriety against this
eminent judge and his staunchest detractors have been
unable to credibly fault the legal and logical validity of his
judgements and opinions.
Where does this leave us? Should the judiciary, on the
basis of an alleged bias that is neither actual nor apparent
but merely contrived, disqualify an upright man who has
served admirably in the temple of justice for over forty
years? Should a judge who has served meritoriously on
the Bench for twenty-five years be subjected to caustic
and malicious persecution on phantom allegations of
unsubstantiated bias? And, if we are now going to
recognise unsubstantiated and contrived bias as a new
nebulous class of actionable bias, is it not a concern that
we will soon run out judges to hear and determine
disputes because any litigant would then be able to, out of
thin air, contrive bias against any judge?
Is that where we are headed? Is that where we should be
heading?



https://thenigerialawyer.com/stopping-the-aspersions-being-cast-on-rhodes-vivour-by-akingbolade-akinbobola/

Good article

cc lalasticlala cc mynd44 cc OAM4J

Those that cast aspersions on Rhodes are the same people that appointed a sharia court judge to head the Supreme Court. Nigeria is a comedy.

dukie25:
Those that cast aspersions on Rhodes are the same people that appointed a sharia court judge to head the Supreme Court. Nigeria is a comedy.

well we believe that supreme court justices we decide on the case faithfully. justices Rhodes is among the justice that will seat on the case already. let's keep our hope alive that justice will be served on the case.

Johnnyessence:
well we believe that supreme court justices we decide on the case faithfully. justices Rhodes is among the justice that will seat on the case already. let's keep our hope alive that justice will be served on the case.

She is just one out of a total of how many.

The shariah cjn will still manipulate the others to act accordingly to the script given to them by APC.

dukie25:

She is just one out of a total of how many.

The shariah cjn will still manipulate the others to act accordingly to the script given to them by APC.

I don't think that way cos' the supreme court judgement on punch, Zamfara, Niger East senatorial district case really shows that the supreme court judges are not biased. they are judged based OK what the counsels of the appellants/ clients present to them. the justices of the Supreme Court will decide on the outcome of the case from the tribunal to the appeal case.

When Jonhnnyessence start campaigning in support of a particular judge, just know that the judge in question is a full fledge PDP member.

On a serious note though, PDP started this nonsense and we warned them back then. You cannot be impugning the integrity of very senior public officials simply because of politics. What PDP did to Amina Zakari and justice Bulkachuwa is what some APC members are doing to Rhodes Vivour. Sadly, it won’t end with justice Vivour. Anytime Mary Odili is on any SC panel to decide a political matter, her integrity will be impugned and she will be forced to recuse herself from the case.

Meanwhile, accept the reality that Bode Rhodes Vivour won’t be heading the SC panel to decide the Osun case as earlier proposed. The CJN has taken over and we now have a full panel. Whatever they decide is final and acceptable to APC.

Johnnyessence:
I don't think that way cos' the supreme court judgement on punch, Zamfara, Niger East senatorial district case really shows that the supreme court judges are not biased. they are judged based OK what the counsels of the appellants/ clients present to them.

You can't compare what happened in Zamfara to this. The CJN had no room to maneuver because INEC sealed their fate when they said there was no authentic primaries in Zamfara.

seunmsg:
When Jonhnnyessence start campaigning in support of a particular judge, just know that the judge in question is a full fledge PDP member.

On a serious note though, PDP started this nonsense and we warned them back then. You cannot be impugning the integrity of very senior public officials simply because of politics. What PDP did to Amina Zakari and justice Bulkachuwa is what some APC members are doing to Rhodes Vivour. Sadly, it won’t end with justice Vivour. Anytime Mary Odili is on any SC panel to decide a political matter, her integrity will be impugned and she will be forced to recuse herself from the case.

Mr seunng, I'm not campaigning on one particular judge here. I'm only posting on the judge the Apc nailed that he's a pdp member which is not. you can see it from where I post above. if you have been following court cases in Nigeria judiciary. justice kekere ekun was chairman of Appeal court that gave victory to Rauf Aregbesola on November 26,2010, then Aregbesola was in AC then. let's not be biased in our comments please.

dukie25:


You can't compare what happened in Zamfara to this. The CJN had no room to maneuver because INEC sealed their fate when they said there was no authentic primaries in Zamfara.

yes you are right, but in all supreme court judges will decide on the case with the fear of God. series of common man has been getting their justices in the supreme court. of recent Punchng newspaper got their Supreme Court after 25 years of delay.

Johnnyessence:
Mr seunng, I'm not campaigning on one particular judge here. I'm only posting on the judge the Apc nailed that he's a pdp member which is not. you can see it from where I post above. if you have been following court cases in Nigeria judiciary. justice kekere ekun was chairman of Appeal court that gave victory to Rauf Aregbesola on November 26,2010, then Aregbesola was in AC then. let's not be biased in our comments please.

We now have a full panel so there should be no cause to worry. If you think Justice Kekere Ekun is sympathetic to APC, other also have same concern about Bode Rhodes Vivour who has always given victory to PDP in any case brought before him. So, they cancel each other out. The objective decision of the other five members of the panel will serve the cause of justice. Let’s wait.

Johnnyessence:
yes you are right, but in all supreme court judges will decide on the case with the fear of God. series of common man has been getting their justices in the supreme court. of recent Punchng newspaper got their Supreme Court after 25 years of delay.

I'm not as optimistic as you Johnnyessence.
Anyway let's wait and see.
If Adeleke manages to pull this off, I'd personally DM him on twitter regarding his number fan Johnnyessence lol.

seunmsg:
When Jonhnnyessence start campaigning in support of a particular judge, just know that the judge in question is a full fledge PDP member.

On a serious note though, PDP started this nonsense and we warned them back then. You cannot be impugning the integrity of very senior public officials simply because of politics. What PDP did to Amina Zakari and justice Bulkachuwa is what some APC members are doing to Rhodes Vivour. Sadly, it won’t end with justice Vivour. Anytime Mary Odili is on any SC panel to decide a political matter, her integrity will be impugned and she will be forced to recuse herself from the case.

Meanwhile, accept the reality that Bode Rhodes Vivour won’t be heading the SC panel to decide the Osun case as earlier proposed. The CJN has taken over and we now have a full panel. Whatever they decide is final and acceptable to APC.

go and google on justice kekere ekun that decided on the appeal case of Aregbesola in 2010 in ibadan divisions of the court of appeal. then chief femi falana SAN was his counsel then. Infact it was this case that results the supreme court to extend the sittings of the election petition to supreme court which is the last court of the land. So Mr seunng, can we now say that justice kekere ekun is an APC member and Tinubu associate? what the common man always pray for is justice. so let's allow the justice to take its course.

dukie25:


I'm not as optimistic as you Johnnyessence.
Anyway let's wait and see.
If Adeleke manages to pull this off, I'd personally DM him on twitter regarding his number fan Johnnyessence lol.

oh thanks for your response. I really appreciate your reply you. alot of people are number one fan of Adeleke. people just want justice on the case.

seunmsg:


We now have a full panel so there should be no cause to worry. If you think Justice Kekere Ekun is sympathetic to APC, other also have same concern about Bode Rhodes Vivour who has always given victory to PDP in any case brought before him. So, they cancel each other out. The objective decision of the other five members of the panel will serve the cause of justice. Let’s wait.

what everyone is only looking for is justice on the case and the Supreme Court justices should decide fully on the case.

dukie25:

She is just one out of a total of how many.

The shariah cjn will still manipulate the others to act accordingly to the script given to them by APC.

justices Rhodes is a man and not a woman.

Johnnyessence:
Mr seunng, I'm not campaigning on one particular judge here. I'm only posting on the judge the Apc nailed that he's a pdp member which is not. you can see it from where I post above. if you have been following court cases in Nigeria judiciary. justice kekere ekun was chairman of Appeal court that gave victory to Rauf Aregbesola on November 26,2010, then Aregbesola was in AC then. let's not be biased in our comments please.

Justice Kekere-Ekun also gave victory to wike at the supreme court. Oya shift...

Tospringe:

Justice Kekere-Ekun also gave victory to wike at the supreme court. Oya shift...

when was that? can you please post the link here to search for the judgment please. thank you.

Johnnyessence:
Should the judiciary, on the basis of an alleged bias that
is neither actual nor apparent but merely contrived,
disqualify an upright man who has served admirably in
the temple of justice for over forty years? Should a judge
who has served meritoriously on the Bench for twenty-
five years be subjected to caustic and malicious
persecution on phantom allegations of unsubstantiated
bias?
Nigerian politicians now seem to have a new stock-in-
trade: the politically-motivated smearing of judges with
the aim of ‘forum-shopping’. Forum-shopping is that
expression known in legal circles as referring to a litigant’s
attempt to determine (or, at least, have influence on) the
choice of the particular court or judge that will adjudge his
case. Every sane legal system discourages, and in some
cases, punishes forum-shopping.
Observers have watched with great concern and alarm,
the recent trend in Nigeria by which politicians attempt to
effectively ‘forum-shop’ by disqualifying certain judges on
the basis of politically-motivated smears and contrived or
outlandish conjectures. Of course, if a judge has
demonstrably substantial interest in a matter, he should
not sit in judgement over this. But to seek out to smear
and, by so doing, effectively disqualify judges on the basis
of the affiliation of their relatives with certain political
parties, or on the basis of their assumed loyalty to tribal
sentiments, or on the basis of their perceived loyalty to
political leaders from their states of origin, borders on the
ridiculous, reeks of desperation, and should not only be
discouraged but condemned in the strongest terms
possible.
I am motivated to put pen to paper on this matter because
of the appalling opinions and sentiments that have been
expressed regarding the selection of the Supreme Court
panel put together to hear the appeal emanating from the
Court of Appeal’s decision on the Osun State election
petition brought by the candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party in that election, Senator Ademola
Adeleke. The most vitriolic smears have been directed at
Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour (CFR), the impeccable
justice of the Supreme Court, who has a pristine record as
a brilliant, capable, and fair-minded judge. Every unbiased
legal practitioner in Nigeria worth his salt would readily
attest to Justice Rhodes-Vivour’s sagacity, brilliance, and
earned reputation for courage and forthrightness. It is thus
sad and disheartening that unfounded aspersions are now
being cast on this widely-admired jurist.
While one should rightly feel concerned for the eminent
jurist, the greater concern should be reserved for the
implications of these conducts on the health and integrity
of our systems and institutions. We all must rise as a
people to denounce and abort the efforts of politicians
who attack judges for political gains for the following
reasons, among others:
a. Such attacks will further erode confidence in our
institutions in general and in the legal system in particular;
b. Such gradual erosion of confidence will have long term
and far-reaching devastating effects on the cohesion of
the nation, the effectiveness of our institutions and,
indeed, the survival of our democracy;
c. Politically-motivated attacks on judges and the resulting
erosion of confidence in the judiciary will allow political
disputes of a legal character to fester and remain
unresolved. This could be dangerous in a country as
diverse and as susceptible to violent eruptions as ours;
and
d. Our judiciary will be starved of the best of legal minds
who will not want to be subjected to such unwarranted
mudslinging and embarrassing falsehoods.
Of course, allegations of bias should be taken seriously.
The fundamental principle underlying the concept of
judicial bias is that a man may not be a judge in his own
case. To this end, there are two recognised types of bias:
actual bias and apparent bias. There will be actual bias
where the judge is a party to the litigation or has a
financial or other interests in its outcome. The interest
does not have to be pecuniary or proprietary but can
involve the promotion of a cause. Apparent bias may be
alleged where the judge’s conduct or behaviour, interests
or allegiances give rise to a suspicion that he is not
impartial.
In the case of Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour (CFR), the
bias alleged so far by innuendoes on social media is
neither actual nor apparent. At best, it may be described
as contrived and, at worst, as phantom. The 68-year-old
justice of the Supreme Court who started his career in the
Lagos State Ministry of Justice and was appointed a judge
in the Lagos State Judiciary in 1994 has, throughout his
illustrious career, exhibited exceptional devotion to duties
and established an unimpeachable reputation for candour,
both of which have stood him in good stead, so much that
his nominations and subsequent appointment to the Court
of Appeal and later to the Supreme Court were greeted
with widespread acceptance in legal circles. There has
never been a proven allegation of impropriety against this
eminent judge and his staunchest detractors have been
unable to credibly fault the legal and logical validity of his
judgements and opinions.
Where does this leave us? Should the judiciary, on the
basis of an alleged bias that is neither actual nor apparent
but merely contrived, disqualify an upright man who has
served admirably in the temple of justice for over forty
years? Should a judge who has served meritoriously on
the Bench for twenty-five years be subjected to caustic
and malicious persecution on phantom allegations of
unsubstantiated bias? And, if we are now going to
recognise unsubstantiated and contrived bias as a new
nebulous class of actionable bias, is it not a concern that
we will soon run out judges to hear and determine
disputes because any litigant would then be able to, out of
thin air, contrive bias against any judge?
Is that where we are headed? Is that where we should be
heading?



https://thenigerialawyer.com/stopping-the-aspersions-being-cast-on-rhodes-vivour-by-akingbolade-akinbobola/

Certainly not the way to go! It signposts how unrefined and unpatriotic the Nigerian worldview can be. The other day it was Bulkachuwa!

zoedew:


Certainly not the way to go! It signposts how unrefined and unpatriotic the Nigerian worldview can be. The other day it was Bulkachuwa!

Justice Rhodes isn't biased in his judgement at all. he has been practicing law for over 25 years now. he's a honest justice that I'm proud of. God bless him abundantly. the likes of justice kekere ekun was part of the panel too. Infact she was the one that ruled on Aregbesola appeal case in 2010 Nov 26,i will never forget.