 |
| *Buhari |
For while it is
true that the allegations of corruption against judges and lawyers predate the
emergence of Buhari as president, the brazenness of the perversion of justice
that riles him is only reflective of the current era of
the collapse of the sanctity of the constitution that
Buhari and his government have precipitated.
To be sure, we are all outraged at the judiciary’s loss of a moral
compass that ought to guide its activities and therefore through every
pronouncement reinforce the notion that it is the last bastion of justice
for the common man. Rather than deterring corruption, the Bench and the Bar
have become ready sources of its perpetuation in the society. Lawyers bribe
judges for their clients to win cases. Justice is now for the highest bidder.
Politicians who empty
the public treasury are allowed to plea-bargain and go home to enjoy
their loot. Those who steal their organisations’ money to buy property all
over the world are allowed to recover from phantom ailments in luxury
hospitals while the shareholders suffer penury. But the poor
person who steals a phone is sentenced to many years in prison without
even an option of a fine.
With the return of
democracy, corruption in the judiciary
has become democratised. The numerous disputes over elections
have become opportunities for judges to amass wealth. The late Justice
Kayode Esho once alerted us to how some judges had become
billionaires by giving judgements that were paid for.
