Justice Transformation Country Representative (Nigeria) for The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law, Ijeoma Nwafor, has called for a law that will prohibit spouses of politicians from becoming judges.
Ijeoma Nwafor said it was time Nigeria took seriously political corruption of the Judiciary. She said corruption must be addressed and not turned into a thing of joke.
Mrs. Nwafor said this on Thursday while speaking at the 1st Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Roundtable, on the ‘Role of Judiciary in Nigeria’s Democracy for Sustainability’, in Abuja.
She bemoaned a situation in which a politician went to the National Assembly and proudly stated that he helped some of his colleagues get judgment through his wife’s position as a justice.
The human rights activist explained that one does not become corrupt because of political position but because it has become a common thing for most Nigerians.
“The judiciary should not be seen mingling with politicians. I think that is the root of the problem. Somehow you become a governor and you are no longer a Nigerian? Somehow you become a judge, and you are no longer a Nigerian?
“You are a President and you are no longer a Nigerian? That is the root of the problem. It is a Nigerian problem. If you are a corrupt Nigerian, and you are made a judge, you will be a corrupt judge.
“If you are a corrupt Nigerian, you become a SAN, you will become a corrupt SAN. It starts from the home; it starts from the community. We don’t even hold each other accountable any longer.
“So sir, I equally have a question for you (referring to Sam Amadi, who had given speech earlier), perhaps we should legislate who people marry. Why should a prominent politician’s wife be able to be a judge? It should be against the law. You will see somebody, he is a prominent politician and his wife rose and became a Supreme Court Justice.
“We have to regulate this thing. If your wife is to be a judge, then you need not be an elected official, you must pick one.
“Let’s get serious, you hear court judgement and the judge sitting there is the wife of a senator, and the senator comes up on the floor of the Senate and says ‘Well in the bedroom, I have negotiated for some of you,’ and we laughed,” she told political parties leaders gathered for the IPAC Roundtable.
Naija News reported that during the Senate Valedictory Session in June 2023, Adamu Bulkachuwa, then Bauchi North Senator, on the floor of the Senate, said he helped some of his colleagues get judgement through his wife, Zainab Bulkachuwa, during her tenure as President of the Court of Appeal.