01062019 - APC lawmakers move against party

38—SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 1, 2019
•Justice Mary Odili
•Justice Atinuke Ige
•Justice Fati Abubakar
•Justice Bulkachuwa
Female judges and
gender stereotypes
By Richard Akinnola
The first salvo was fired last year
by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC)
when the anti-graft body sent a letter
to the Chief Judge of the Federal High
court, Abdul Kafarati.
In the said letter, the Chairman of
EFCC asked the Chief Judge to
reassign all corruption cases being
prosecuted by the
EFCC, from the court
of Justice Nyako. Not
because the judge
had been found
wanting in the
discharge of her
j u d i c i a l
responsibilities but
because of her marital
connection.
Justice Nyako is one
of the wives of
Murtala Nyako, a
former Governor of
Adamawa State,
currently undergoing
trial, along with two
of his sons for alleged
corruption.
On the basis of the
trial of her husband,
the EFCC felt that
corruption cases were
For me, l think it
is rather unfair
to subject female
judges to this
sort of
discrimination
just because of
the vocation of
their husband’s
as politicians
not safe in the court of Justice Nyako.
To me, l find this premise
preposterous. Does it mean that if the
judge’s husband was standing trial for
any other alleged offence, her wife
would also be divested of any case
relating to such an offence.
It is against that background that l
view the application of the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), asking the
president of the Court of Appeal,
Justice Bulkachuwa to recuse herself
from the election petition case of Atiku
Abubakar, which though the court
dismissed but the judge
acceded to the PDP’s
request.
For me, l think it is
rather unfair to subject
female judges to this sort
of discrimination just
because of the vocation
of their husband’s as
politicians. Why not the
other way round, that is,
male judges being
subjected to this sort of
discrimination because
their spouses are
politicians?
The perception that
these female judges
would be compromised
based on the political
standing of their
husbands, to me, is illconceived.
After the 2015
Governorship elections,
Mr Dakuku Peterside, the Rivers State
Governorship candidate on the
platform of APC, challenged the
election of Nyesom Wike of the PDP.
The sitting of the Tribunal was moved
from Port Harcourt to Abuja for
security reasons.
Wike kicked against it. He
challenged the relocation in court, up
to the Supreme Court.
Justice Mary Odili, wife of Wike’s
political leader in Rivers State, was
on the Supreme Court panel and she
dismissed Wike’s appeal. Similarly,
while Justice Odili was at the Court of
Appeal and the appeal of Charles Soludo,
Anambra PDP governorship candidate
came before the court, she gave judgment
against Soludo.
Also, few years ago, Justice Fati
Abubakar, wife of former Head of State,
General Abdulsalami Abubakar, as the
Chief Judge of Niger State, had to swearin
her Son in-law as the Governor of Niger
State. In other words, there was a
situation in Niger State where the mother
in-law of Governor was the Chief Judge
and the First Lady, was the daughter of
the Chief Judge.
The fact that her son in-law was the
Governor did not affect her job as Chief
Judge of the State because she swore to
a Judicial oath.
I’m also not aware that Justice
Atinuke Ige (of blessed memory),
recused herself from political cases
involving the Unity party of
Nigeria(UPN) /Alliance for
Democracy(AD) when she was a Judge
and her husband, Bola Ige was a
Governor in Oyo State and later a
Minister under Obasanjo. As a matter
of fact, it is on record that when Justice
Odili’s husband became governor of
Rivers State, Justice Atinuke Ige, who
was like her mentor, went to meet her
in Port Harcourt and admonished her
not to quit the Bench but to concentrate
on her Judicial duties, irrespective of
the new status of her husband,
particularly since she had been on the
Bench before her husband’s foray into
politics, of which he has retired.
Justice Mrs Pedro was also a Judge of
Lagos Judiciary when her husband,
Olufemi Pedro was the Deputy Governor
of Lagos State. The husband even had a
momentary bitter fued with the then
Governor, Ahmed Tinubu, while his wife
was still in the Bench of Lagos Judiciary
and that never affected her job.
Today, Justice Mrs Ogala is a judge of
Lagos Judiciary, an APC state, while her
husband is the National legal Adviser of
the APC. Would Justice Ogala be asked
to recuse herself from cases involving
Lagos State? I think the objection of PDP
in the Atiku case on Justice Bulckachawa
is misplaced.
I don’t think a female Judicial Officer
should put her Judicial career on hold just
because her spouse is a top politician or
recuse herself in polical cases.
Justice Umaru Abdulahi, then
president, Court of Appeal, was a
classmate of General Buhari. But
when Buhari’s appeal on Yar’adua’s
election came before the court, he
didn’t recuse himself. In fact, he ruled
in favour of Yar’adua.
Judges are human beings, not
spirits. They interact with people.
They have old students and belong to
village associations. If we continue to
raise objections either on the basis of
consanguinity or marital relationships,
no judge would hear any case.
While working on the biography of
Justice Yaya Jinadu in 1988, he told me
that his wife, a lawyer, sometimes
appeared before him and they NEVER
discussed official matters at home.
Every judge, particularly whose
spouse is a politician should be true
to her conscience and oath of office.