NIGERIA AND HER JUDICIARY: AN EMBODIMENT OF CORRUPTION AND FORGERY

By Chiemerie Michael (Abia Writers)

Edited by Chidi Aloysius Nwosu

A nation without fairness, freedom, security and tolerance for economic concept is corrupt and has every tendency of failure. Nigeria ranked first amongst the three (3) most powerful countries in Africa, but now she is the world headquarters of poverty, a grandmaster of corruption and forgery. Corruption and forgery have been a tower around its territory for many years but seem to be an emblem in Buhari's administration; hence, David Cameron's "fantastically corrupt" tag. 

Corruption is a form of dishonesty or loss of purity or integrity, depravity and wickedness, even criminal activities undertaken by a person or organization entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire illicit benefits or, abuse assigned power for one's private gain. Forgery or counterfeit is a form of corruption and severe offence punishable by a range of penalties including jail or prison term, significant fines, probation and restitution. Forgery also involves the altering, use, or possession of false document or writing to commit fraud.

Generally, the Judiciary mainly interprets and applies the law, but can in some systems create law among other arms of government. Mind you, for people to establish and keep the rule of law as the operative norm in a society, they must take great care in the election or appointment of unbiased and thoughtful legal scholars whose loyalty to their oath of office is unwavering. All has not been well in the Nigerian judicial system since Muhammadu Buhari, a corrupt anti-corruption crusader, a biased and insensitive man, assumed the office of the president on May 29th, 2015. 

The Judiciary has become extraordinarily debased and partial. They have become a wing of the executive that is at the whims and caprices of the presidency. They effectively and authoritatively exhibit and promote corruption and forgery in performing their duties. The Judiciary they say is the hope of the common man, not in present-day Nigeria. They no longer adjudicate based on the Nigerian constitution, which they are meant to interpret, but based on what suits the presidency. The Judiciary became moribund after the DSS, one of the attack dogs of this administration broke into the houses of some senior judges around 1 & 2 am, harassed, and abducted them on trumped-up charges. The judicial arm of government has not been the same after that shameful and despicable act.

The legislature as well is non-existent; the executive has also cowed them. There is nothing like separation of powers in this Fulani oligarchy led APC government, not to talk of checks and balances. The executive has all the powers and whoever coughs will be bullied with their attack dogs of DSS and EFCC who have become instruments of oppression in the hands of the presidency. This government behaves with reckless abandon, bribery, embezzlement and fraud, which boost personal aggrandizement amongst politicians and impunity is the order of the day. 

Unfortunately for poor Nigerians, the incumbent president becomes uninterruptible due to the rate of corruption in Nigeria worsened by him. He forged his West Africa School Certificate (WASC), which he presented to INEC before the election. Before then, he overthrew a democratically elected government, which is treason. He committed numerous atrocities before the Fulani oligarchy and some greedy southern politicians rigged him into office. Since he assumed the office of the president, he has shown that he is not a democrat. He has thrown the rule of law into the dustbin and violation of citizens' fundamental human rights has become the order of the day.

All Nigerians should get off the beaten track and as well stand against judicial inclination to corruption and forgery.