CJN calls on Nigerians to eliminate corruption before it consumes our country
The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter S.N. Onnoghen, last week in Abuja, called on all Nigerians including organizations, institutions and professional bodies to join hands in the fight against corruption before corruption consumes the country.
Justice Onnoghen said this in his opening remark as chairman of the 9th J-K Gadzama LLP Annual Public Lecture held at the J-K Gadzama Court, Abuja with the theme: “ Corruption and the Nation’s Economy; Lawyers as Change Agents.”
Justice Onnoghen who was represented at the event by Justice Musa Dettijo Mohammed (JSC) commended Chief J-K Gadzama (SAN) for the lecture series which has been sustained for almost a decade. He lamented the devastating effect of corruption on the nation’s economy saying, if we do not arrest and eliminate this monster, it would consume our nation and we will not have any nation to bequeath to our children and future generation.
Justice Onnoghen said: “ I hope that the discussions that will emerge from today’s event will be used by the organisers to produce a position paper on this very topical issue and partner with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as well as other relevant legal education and regulatory bodies to educate our lawyers on their very important role as change agents” Justice Onnoghen stated.
Presenting his paper, the guest lecturer, pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, examined the concept of corruption and the imperatives of fighting corruption in Nigeria. He took a critical look at lawyers as the fulcrum and the role of lawyers in corruption fight in his EFCC days.
In discussing lawyers as change agents Ribadu said: “ By their training and practice, lawyers are well entrenched in our systems, from politics to business. There are no business transactions that is done without involvement of a counsel, sometimes not just as a lawyer but as a party to the transaction. Lawyers are needed as company secretaries, as legal advisers, as arbitrators, et cetera. This, in a way has placed lawyers in a position of advantage where they can easily be absorbed in corrupt practices or fight it, if they choose to.
“More than any other professional groups, lawyers are in charge of an entire arm of government; the Judiciary. Lawyers are in charge of the Judiciary and by its strategic place in the power equation in democratic setting, the Judiciary has the capacity to bring corruption to its knees and solve myriads of our national problems.
All things considered, one is not amenable to the principal functions of a lawyer, especially a private one, in the administration of justice chain. Similarly, the right of the suspect in criminal prosecution to legal representation is something that is well entrenched in our statutes and laws. Therefore, in litigation, like in other aspects, a lawyer’s focus and concern is tailored towards his role for his client and the client’s satisfaction.
“The challenges of the private practitioner is striking a balance between what is in the client’s interest and public interest especially at a crossroads our country found itself regarding the corruption challenge.
Indeed, suspects have the right to representation and a lawyer is legally empowered to offer such services. However, that must be done within the ambit of the law and morality. That is why there is code of ethics. Legal representation should not be seen as an avenue to win a case by all means. A situation where a course of justice is perverted by all manner of antics, is costly to the society and the profession. A lawyer serving as a conduit of desecrating the Judiciary by bribing judges and judicial officers is a disgrace to this noble profession. And these are the set of people who plunged the Judiciary into the embarrassing trial it faces today.
“Agreed, defence lawyer cannot be yes-men of the prosecution or sacrifice their clients for that matter. However, there should be morality threshold that should not allow a lawyer to turn himself into a tout or a charlatan in defence of a suspect through irresponsible tactics, especially in the face of naked obvious facts.
In conclusion, I want to urge our legal practitioners to always put our legal code ethics as your guiding light, set morality as your canvas and carry in your heart the public interest, to avoid harming yourself along with the larger society, as Lord Brougham cited above described.
We must take an active step in self-cleansing. We as lawyers should shun the attitude of playing ostrich for self-preservation. The NBA must be in the forefront of the current effort to cure the justice sector of the evil of corruption and in this there should be no sacred cows.
“The talent commonly displayed by lawyers and their training place the lawyer at a comparative advantage for leadership roles, especially at important junctures of history. “A number of lawyers have played that role to the admiration of the world. Let’s look at our Mandela, let’s look at Ghandi, lets look at Obama, as lawyers they altered the course of history. We all have similar trait in us. Lawyers are trained to be change agents, and we the Nigerian lawyers should not be any different” Ribadu stated.
The paper was discussed by the former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Cross River State, Nella Andem-Rabana, SAN, Chairman of Civil Society Network Against Corruption, Olanrewaju Suraju and Ozioma Izuora.
Plateau State Governor, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong sent his good will massage through Justice Chris Selong. Other who gave goodwill massages at the event include the Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, Chief Judge FCT High Court, Justice I. U. Bello, President, National Industrial Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, Director General, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) Prof. Deji Adekunle, President, Law Media and Social Justice Development Initiative, Charles Odenigbo.