My wife wanted to run away when she discovered I was a boxer – Olu Moses, 83, Hogan Bassey’s Yaba Club teammate

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| credits:

Olu Moses, who is still actively involved in boxing as a coach at 83, shares his experiences with ADEOLA BALOGUN and OLUFEMI ATOYEBI

At 83, you are still involved in boxing. Why are you not retired?

Boxing is my life. It is difficult to do without it. Besides, age has not affected my passion for the sport and that is why I still train the young ones to become good boxers.  The boys I train now are preparing for the 2013 National Sports Festival, which is coming up in Lagos. I want them to be like me. I want them to make progress in the game. I believe that when we have boys and train them right from a

NDLEA uncovers drug in aso oke

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NDLEA boss, Ahmadu Giade
| credits:

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Thursday said it had uncovered substances suspected to be methamphetamine inside native clothes called Aso-Oke.

A statement by the Head, Corporate Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said eight

Falana faults demolition of Abuja houses

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Mr. Femi Falana
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Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN),  has faulted the position of the Federal Capital Development Authority on the demolition of 500 housing units in Minanuel Estate,  Goza, Lugbe phase 11, Abuja.

Jonathan may back Oteh against N’Assembly

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Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh
| credits: File copy

2012 budget: FG releases N300bn for capital projects

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Coordinating Minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
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Taraba governor dies in plane accident

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Taraba State Governor, Suntai Dambaba
| credits: liveinnaija.com

Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai, on Thursday night died when a small plane he was flying crashed.

The governor was said to be the only casualty of the crash at the Yola Airport while two others survived.

This is the second crash of a civilian plane recorded this year.

A Dana Air plane on a scheduled flight from Abuja – Lagos crashed a few kilometres to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on June 3, killing all 153 onboard and four persons on the ground.

More details later.

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AWC: Nkwocha sets 15-goal target

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Perpetua Nkwocha
| credits: File copy

Super Falcons striker, Perpetua Nkwocha, has set a target of 15 goals for the upcoming African Women’s Championship in Equatorial Guinea.

The tournament is slated for Equatorial Guinea from October 28 to November 11, 2012,

Obama campaign claims Ohio poll leads

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Obama
| credits:

The Obama campaign put all joking aside after Thursday night’s charity dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York with a new memo on Friday morning that said the US president was ahead in the critical battleground state of Ohio compared with this time four years ago.

The memo highlighted four polls that showed Mr Obama with significant leads among early voters and that four in five Ohioans who had registered to vote this year were either female, under 30 years-old, black or Latino – demographics that traditionally favour the president.

“Republicans are similarly talking up their ground game and early vote numbers, but their assertions rest on much shakier ground,” said Jeremy Bird, the Obama campaign’s national field director.

Mr Bird hit out at the Romney campaign’s suggestion that Republicans were making strong gains in early voting and outperforming voter registration in Ohio’s largest counties. He said the Romney campaign was “disingenuously” looking at the increase in Republican voters during the primary, when Republicans had a competitive race but Democrats did not.

Mr Obama and Mr Romney headed back on the campaign trail – the president to Virginia while Mr Romney was in Florida – after a brief respite in their battle for the White House.

On Thursday night, both presidential candidates appeared at the annual Al Smith Catholic charity dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and poked fun at one another and themselves.

Mr Romney, in white tie and tails, began his speech talking about the many wardrobe changes required by an election campaign. “It’s nice to finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house,” he quipped.

He joked about Mr Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, who he remarked would “laugh at anything” – a reference to Mr Biden’s frequent laughter and big grin during his recent debate against Paul Ryan, the Republican vice-presidential hopeful.

Mr Romney referred to the media’s alleged bias in favour of Mr Obama. He predicted the headlines for the next morning would read: “Obama embraced by Catholics. Romney dines with rich people.”

The Republican candidate made a few biting remarks, including one when he said he wondered what Mr Obama was thinking as he looked around the room among the elite in Washington with just a few months left in his presidency: “So little time, so much to redistribute.”

Mr Obama took shots at Mr Romney. As he approached the podium he said to the clapping crowd: “Please take your seats. Otherwise Clint Eastwood will yell at them,” a reference to the Hollywood actor’s performance at the Republican national convention.

He poked fun at Mr Romney’s trip to Europe, in which he offended Londoners on the eve of the opening ceremony for the Olympics. “After my foreign trip in 2008, I was attacked as a celebrity because I was so popular with our allies overseas. And I have to say, I’m impressed with how well governor Romney has avoided that problem,” he said to laughs.

He noted that “Mitt” was actually Mr Romney’s middle name (his first name is Willard), and said “I wish I could use my middle name.” Mr Obama’s middle name is Hussein.

The US president did not spare himself. “Some of you may have noticed, I had a lot more energy in our second debate. I felt really well rested after the nice long nap I had in the first debate.”

And, as he did when he first appeared at the dinner in 2008 alongside John McCain, he included a jab at his running mate.

“I’ve heard some people say, ‘Barack, you’re not as young as you used to be. Where’s that golden smile? Where’s that pep in your step?’ And I say, ‘Settle down, Joe, I’m trying to run a cabinet meeting.”

•The Hill

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Drama in Ikare as soldiers impound Abuja-bound trailer

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Soldiers at a checkpoint on Oba Adesida Road, Akure... on Friday.
| credits: Stanley Ogidi

There was drama in Ikare, Akoko North-East of Ondo State on Friday when an Abuja-bound trailer was impounded by a team of soldiers deployed in the community for today’s governorship election in the state.

Outgoing Air Force chief advocates more funding

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Outgoing Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Umar
| credits:

The outgoing Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Umar, has called for increased budgetary provision for the service in view of its constitutional responsibility of curbing the new security challenges in the country.

Umar said that the Air Force would be able to play its sensitive security responsibility of defending the nation against external aggression and participate effectively in maintaining internal security only with adequate budgetary allocations.

Kwara governor’s wife named ‘Milk Ambassador’

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Wife of Kwara State Governor, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed
| credits: File copy

In continuation of its ongoing milk consumption awareness campaign tagged, ‘Drink Milk Everyday’, Peak Milk, the premium brand of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria, has named the Kwara State Governor’s wife; Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, has the ‘Milk Ambassador’
in the state.

The honorary appointment marked the commencement of the campaign in Ilorin on Thursday.

Ahmed’s emergence as the first ‘Milk Ambassador’ for the brand, according to a statement by the company, is as a result of her motherly role demonstrated towards every indigene of the state.

Police dismiss Sergeant who ordered students lynched

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IG, Abubakar
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THE police on Thursday said the policeman involved in the killing of the four students of the University of Port Harcourt in Aluu, Rivers State, Sergeant Lucky Orji, had been dismissed from the force.

The spokesman for the police in Rivers, Mr. Ben Ugwuegbulam confirmed to our correspondent in Port Harcourt that Orji had been dismissed and that he was among the 13 suspects arraigned in court on Wednesday.

“He (Orji) was among those arraigned in court yesterday (Wednesday). He is no longer a policeman because he has been dismissed,” Ugwuegbulam said.

The four male students, Lloyd Toku, Ugonna Obuzor, Chiadika Biringa and Tekena Erikena, were beaten and set ablaze by a mob suspected to be residents of Omuokiri Aluu, a community located about three kilometers to UNIPORT.

Thirteen suspects, including the traditional ruler of the community, were arraigned in court on Wednesday.

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Aluu killings: Court remands 13 suspects in prison

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Suspects paraded at the Rivers State Police command.
| credits: Chukwudi Akasike

THE Magistrate’s Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday remanded 13 suspects arrested in connection with the killing of four students of the University of Port Harcourt.

The accused persons were allegedly part of a mob that tortured the four undergraduates to death in Omuokiri Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The suspects, who were escorted by security agents, were driven into the court premises about 9.45am in a Toyota Hiace bus with number plate FG 120 F50.

The suspects were in handcuffs and chains as they appeared in court on five counts of conspiracy and murder.

Presiding Magistrate, Emmanuel Woke, however, said the court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Woke immediately announced the transfer of the case to the Department of Public Prosecution for legal advice and subsequent arraignment in a High Court.

 The magistrate also said the suspects should seek bail from the high court.

A Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr. Henry Njoku, stood as counsel for the prosecution while Mr. A.A. Finebone was the counsel for the first accused and village head of Aluu, Alhaji Hassan Walewa.

Mr. Austine Ojekudo and others from the Nigeria Bar Association and the Human Rights Commission were in court as concerned parties.

The charges against the accused as contained in Charge Sheet Number PMC/2009C/2012, are “That you conspired among yourselves to commit felony to wit: murder and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 324 of the criminal code Cap 37 laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.”

The suspects and others at large were accused of lynching Ugonna Obuzor, Toku Lloyd, Chiadika Biringa, and Tekenah Erikena, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 319 of the criminal code Cap 37 volume III laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.

The court, however, adjourned the case till December 20, 2012.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, has explained why he removed Dr. Andrew Efemini, as  Head of Department of Philosophy.

Ajienka, who spoke with newsmen in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, said Efemini made an inflammatory statement that incited students to embark on a violent protest in Aluu.

The students had carried out a protest against the killing of their colleagues by suspected members of Aluu.

The Vice-Chancellor noted that the former HOD’s action on the day of the protest inflamed the already tensed situation, which the university was battling at all costs to contain.

Ajienka stated that such situation would not be tolerated by a responsible administration management, even as he insisted that the decision to remove Efemini was in order.

The Vice-Chancellor added, “Efemini’s ill-advised action on that day inflamed an already tensed situation that we were battling on all fronts to contain. Under the untenable situation in which Dr. Efemini’s action put me, it was better to protect him and myself.”

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Cape Verde cap rise with Nations Cup ticket

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The Cape Verde Islands will become the smallest country to compete at an Africa Nations Cup finals after qualifying at the expense of Cameroon and their remarkable rise is the culmination of a project to target ‘top talent’.

The Portuguese-speaking country’s elimination of the four-time winners in Sunday’s final qualifying round ranks as one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history but it has been on the cards in recent years.

Just 10 years ago the ‘Tubaroes Azul’ (Blue Sharks) beat Mauritania 2-0 at home to record their first win in a competitive international and now they are ranked 51st in the world.

“There was a conscious decision by the federation to embark on a project that would pursue the top talent available and after many years of hard work this has now come to pass,” said Joao de Deus, coach of Portuguese second division club Oliveirense, who was in charge of Cape Verde in 2008 and 2009.

By tapping into a large number of descendants of migrants who have been steadily leaving the island archipelago over the last century, Cape Verde football’s ability far exceeds the country’s 500,000-strong population.

“We now have some 90 percent of our squad members who are playing at clubs in Europe, in Portugal, France, Spain, Holland and other countries,” coach Lucio Antunes said in a recent telephone interview.

“These are professional players who are desperate to show what they can do at the Nations Cup finals. It has been so easy to work with them because of their experience and their desire,” he added.

But while almost all of Cape Verde’s players are drawn from overseas clubs, there remains a fairytale element to the way they have gone from novices to Nations Cup qualifiers in the space of 10 years.

Antunes is on long leave from his job as an air traffic controller and the majority of the squad have no profile outside the Cape Verde. Sunday’s goal hero Heldon, from Maritimo in Portugal, and Ryan Mendes of Ligue 1 Lille are among the exceptions.

Better known Cape Verdians are Manchester United winger Nani and Porto defender Rolando, who both play for Portugal, and former Sweden striker Henrik Larsson, whose father hailed from the island nation.

The Cape Verde, more desert than tropical and situated off the west coast of Africa, won independence in the mid-70s from Portugal but did not play an international until more than a decade later.

They have been FIFA members since only 1986 and did not enter the Nations Cup or World Cup qualifiers until 1992 – two years after Cameroon became the first African country to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

But on Sunday they looked consummate veterans of the international circuit, toying at times with their Cameroonian hosts as they advanced to January’s finals in South Africa 3-2 on aggregate over two legs.

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Why we embarked on evaluation of NTI study centres –NCCE boss

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Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Mohammed Junaid
| credits: http://nationalmirroronline.net

The Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Mohammed Junaid, has said the urge to ensure quality of teachers being produced by the National Teachers’ Institute for the nation’s basic schools informed the body’s decision to embark on the monitoring and evaluation of NTI’s study centres across the country.

Also, stakeholders in the education sector, who attended the opening ceremony of the evaluation exercise in the South West geo-political zone, in Lagos on Wednesday, have faulted the Federal Government’s decision to scrap teacher training colleges in the country.

Youth corps member donates borehole, toilet to community

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The corps member, Williams with others during the inauguration of the borehole.
| credits: Segun Olatunji

Imo is a rustic community located within Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital yet its people do not have access to basic amenities such as potable water and good toilet facilities.

This, it was learnt, has been the condition of the area since 1827 when their forefathers migrated from Orile-Imo homestead to their present place within Abeokuta metropolis.

As far as the people are concerned, there is nothing like dividends of democracy.

Concerned by the plight of the people, a member of the National Youth Service Corps, Mr. Igbigbi Williams, from Delta State, donated a borehole and a four-room modern toilet facilities worth N1.3m to the community.

Williams, with service number OG/11C/2554 came into the community last March and saw the need for the community to have potable water and modern toilets.

He said he got in touch with some prominent indigenes of the community and told them about his plan.

Williams, a graduate of Geography and Meteorology from the Enugu State University of Technology told our correspondent that he was encouraged by the enthusiasm exhibited by the leaders of the community when he informed them about his plan.

This, according to him, made him to ensure that the project was completed within seven months through direct labour.

Williams said, “Today marks a very important day in my life because it is a day I have fulfilled a part of my heart desires, which is putting smiles on people’s faces. When I was posted to this community, I took my time to go round in order to find out the most pressing needs of the people.

“In the course of doing this, I discovered that their most collective and pressing needs were modern toilet facility and potable water.

“Immediately I went to discuss my intention of providing these facilities with the head of the community who gladly accepted my proposals and gave me a portion of land where I eventually erected the projects.”

Williams, however, acknowledged that the projects would not have been possible if not for the financial assistance he received from some philanthropists like the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Lemo, the Baale of Lisa, Chief Nojeem Odugbemi, and the Odofin of Imo, Chief Akeem Adesina.

“So, it was not a surprise when on October 3 the people of Imo community adorned in their best attires, rolled out the drums to celebrate this unprecedented event,” he said.

The community’s monarch, Oba Kolawole Olubiyi, who led other traditional chiefs to the venue of the inauguration could not hide his excitement.

Olubiyi in his speech said it was the first time a project of such magnitude would be inaugurated in the community since 1817 either by an individual or the government.

Olubiyi said, “As a matter of fact, these projects are some of the most important things needed by the people of Imo. This corps member came to me one day and said that he was directed by the local government council to come and site the toilet and the borehole here.

“The corps member is one of those boys I’ve seen fulfilling the objectives of the NYSC and I’ll want the state government to recognise his efforts and give him a befitting award.”

He, therefore, urged the the community to ensure the security and maintenance of the projects for their maximum benefits.

The Odofin of Imo,  Adesina, said those proposing the scrapping of the NYSC scheme had been proved wrong by Williams’ gesture.

“I want to assure you that from today, the Community Development Association has taken over the projects fully. They are not government’s projects. they are our own projects and by God’s grace, we’ll secure and maintain them,” he said.

 

 

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Northern elders part of Nigeria’s problems – Ex-IG

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Former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Gambo Jimeta
| credits: leadership.ng

A former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Gambo Jimeta, on Wednesday accused members of the Northern Elders Forum of sowing seeds of discord in the country.

Specifically, he accused the elders of causing confusion in the polity in order to discredit the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Responding to a comment credited to the NEF that the Jonathan administration was worse than that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the former police boss accused the northern elders of being hypocritical in their assessment.

Jimeta said instead of seeking real solutions to the nation’s problems, the elders “chose cowardly path to create confusion and mistrust.”

He said in a statement, “As for the unfortunate comment credited to the Northern Elders Forum that Jonathan’s government is worse than Obasanjo, it is disappointing to note that other Nigerians who should have been steering the course of nation building decided to pull those pillars down by sowing the seeds of enmity and political hypocrisy in order to distract Nigerians from the truth.

“Rather than rolling up their sleeves to actively find solutions to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians, they chose to pull us backward again and force us to play the blame game. The hydra-headed monster of collective responsibility in the nation’s down fall also has thousands of fingers pointing at those who sit in judgment in the Northern Elders’ Forum.”

Comparing the administrations of Jonathan and Obasanjo, he said, “How short is the memory of these Nigerians that they would choose to sweep away the cases of massive corruption that plagued the Obasanjo administration or the flagrant disregard of court judgments?

“What about the elections that brought the violent ethnic and religious crisis? The Jos and Kaduna crises all happened under his watch. Have they so easily forgotten the crisis in the aviation industry that saw a season of death through multiple air crashes?”

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Blatter accuses S’Africa of poor World Cup preparation

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FIFA President, Sepp Blatter
| credits: File copy

Sepp Blatter has accused South Africa of being too busy dancing to properly organise the 2010 World Cup.

The Fifa supremo was speaking about the past failings of countries who have held the prestigious tournament, which is next being hosted in Brazil in 2014.

Blatter has revealed that the world footballing governing body had to push South Africa to persuade them to get to work on the World Cup.

“When we came to Africa, the Africans – they got the World Cup in May 2004 – they were dancing during one year,” he told reporters. “They were just dancing because they got the World Cup.

“Then we had to call them and say, ‘Please, start to work!’ and we had to push a little bit to start to work.”

Eight years earlier, South Korea and Japan had co-hosted the 2002 iteration of the tournament and, although he praised their enthusiasm, Blatter has admitted his disappointment at the vast array of unused stadiums in the East Asian nations.

He added: “In South Korea and Japan they were so eager to organise the World Cup that they could have done two!

“Because they were ready with so many stadiums in Korea and the same number in Japan, in my opinion it was overdone.

“And now, in one of the countries at least, they have some stadiums which are white elephants – this is not the aim of the World Cup.”

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Judiciary since Independence

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Nigeria's first female Chief Justice, Mariam Aloma Mukhtar

| credits: pmnewsnigeria.com

ADE ADESOMOJU, in this piece, writes  on  the prominent features of the nation’s judiciary since it became independent of English Privy Council in 1963.

Nigeria attains its 52nd year of independence today, but the independence of its judiciary only coincides with the period the nation became a republic in 1963.  The Nigerian judiciary had no independence until 1963 when the country finally proclaimed itself a republic. Prior to 1963, decisions from the Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria were not final as final appeals still had to be laid before the jurisdiction of the Privy Council of the House of Lords in England. That meant that final decisions of Nigerian courts were still subject to judicial views handed down from England- through the Privy Council. A case that changed that was the Akintola v. Adegbenro case in which the Privy Council gave a decision at variance with that which the Nigerian Federal Supreme Court gave. After that decision, Nigeria became a Republic and the independence of the Nigeria judiciary from Britain’s Privy Council was effected.

 The personnel of the Nigerian judiciary, including the Chief Justices and Judges, were reflective of the colonial past until the appointment of  the late Justice Adetokunbo Ademola as the nation’s first indigenous Chief Justice. That gradually paved way for the weeding out of foreign influences from the personnel of the Nigerian judiciary until what is today a judiciary peopled by largely Nigerians.

Also, prior to becoming a Republic, decisions and cases decided in England were largely binding on Nigerian courts by virtue of the influence of the Privy Council on the Nigerian judicial heirachy system. However, since 1963 and over the years, the Nigerian courts are no longer bound by decisions made in English courts or any foreign court for that matter. At best, decisions made in English or other foreign courts can only be cited in Nigerian courts for persuasive effect. They are not binding on Nigerian courts.

In the areas of jurisprudence and the espousal of legal principles, Nigerian courts have taken advantage of opportunities offered by some Nigerian cases to propound legal theories to suit our localised dynamics. For instance, the issue of ‘local standi’ now have Nigerian cases, such as Fawehinmi v. Akilu, Abraham Adesanya v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Fawehinmi v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,  etc; decided on the applicability of the doctrine in Nigeria; as against the former practice of relying on British cases and foreign jurists’ opinion on such matters.  Also, on the issue of judicial integrity and bias, the practice before independence was to rely on the views of English jurists, especially Lord Denning’s view in such cases like that of Metropolitan Properties Co. ltd v. Lannon (1963) 3 All ER 304 at 310. However, today, Nigerian jurisprudence has evolved and cases such as Adigun v. A.G. Oyo State (1987) 1 NWLR (Pt.53) 678 at 719 – 720, L.P.D.C v Fawehinmi (1985) 2 NWLR (pt.7) 300 at 346-347, have had Nigerian judges propounding brilliant theories on the subject of judicial bias and integrity such that recourse to English jurisprudence on the subject is now often dispensed with.

Generally, the question of the competence and integrity of judges was hardly in doubt as at the time of independence but it appears that as the system declined, the judiciary also commenced its downward slope into corruption.

Some factors have been argued to have contributed to the decline in both competence and integrity on the Nigerian bench since independence. One of such is the process of appointment of judicial officers. At independence, merit was considered more important than place of origin. It was such that renowned academics such as Dr. Taslim Elias, who was Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, got appointed to the Supreme Court and even went to the World Court as Nigeria’s representative on the International Court of Justice’ Bench. Today, appointments in the judiciary has been afflicted by the turn-by-turn syndrome of a decaying bureaucracy.

The country is being administered as a fragment of ethnic nationalities so its appointments to the judicial arm of government have witnessed an unhealthy rise of the primordial sentimental considerations which have caused a steady decline in the quality of judgments and the society is the worse for it.

Over the years, military rule also contributed to the corruption of the judiciary. The military decrees many times attempted to abrogate and oust the jurisdiction of the courts. The military largely turned the courts to toothless bull-dogs and even where judgments were handed down against arbitrary government actions, they were hardly obeyed thus contributing to the peoples’ apathy towards the capacity of courts to do effectual justice.

Nigeria’s judiciary has rendered capacity-building assistance to fellow African countries such as Liberia, Gambia, Sierra-Leone etc. For instance, the Late Justice Akinola Aguda was once the Chief Justice of The Gambia. Similarly, the incumbent CJN, Justice Aloma Mukthar, would have been the Chief Judge of another African country, but for the fact that she declined and otherwise preferred to continue to render her services to the Nigerian judiciary.

Judiciary since Independence

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Nigeria's first female Chief Justice, Mariam Aloma Mukhtar
| credits: pmnewsnigeria.com

ADE ADESOMOJU, in this piece, writes  on  the prominent features of the nation’s judiciary since it became independent of English Privy Council in 1963.

Nigeria attains its 52nd year of independence today, but the independence of its judiciary only coincides with the period the nation became a republic in 1963.  The Nigerian judiciary had no independence until 1963 when the country finally proclaimed itself a republic. Prior to 1963, decisions from the Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria were not final as final appeals still had to be laid before the jurisdiction of the Privy Council of the House of Lords in England. That meant that final decisions of Nigerian courts were still subject to judicial views handed down from England- through the Privy Council. A case that changed that was the Akintola v. Adegbenro case in which the Privy Council gave a decision at variance with that which the Nigerian Federal Supreme Court gave. After that decision, Nigeria became a Republic and the independence of the Nigeria judiciary from Britain’s Privy Council was effected.

 The personnel of the Nigerian judiciary, including the Chief Justices and Judges, were reflective of the colonial past until the appointment of  the late Justice Adetokunbo Ademola as the nation’s first indigenous Chief Justice. That gradually paved way for the weeding out of foreign influences from the personnel of the Nigerian judiciary until what is today a judiciary peopled by largely Nigerians.

Also, prior to becoming a Republic, decisions and cases decided in England were largely binding on Nigerian courts by virtue of the influence of the Privy Council on the Nigerian judicial heirachy system. However, since 1963 and over the years, the Nigerian courts are no longer bound by decisions made in English courts or any foreign court for that matter. At best, decisions made in English or other foreign courts can only be cited in Nigerian courts for persuasive effect. They are not binding on Nigerian courts.

In the areas of jurisprudence and the espousal of legal principles, Nigerian courts have taken advantage of opportunities offered by some Nigerian cases to propound legal theories to suit our localised dynamics. For instance, the issue of ‘local standi’ now have Nigerian cases, such as Fawehinmi v. Akilu, Abraham Adesanya v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Fawehinmi v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,  etc; decided on the applicability of the doctrine in Nigeria; as against the former practice of relying on British cases and foreign jurists’ opinion on such matters.  Also, on the issue of judicial integrity and bias, the practice before independence was to rely on the views of English jurists, especially Lord Denning’s view in such cases like that of Metropolitan Properties Co. ltd v. Lannon (1963) 3 All ER 304 at 310. However, today, Nigerian jurisprudence has evolved and cases such as Adigun v. A.G. Oyo State (1987) 1 NWLR (Pt.53) 678 at 719 – 720, L.P.D.C v Fawehinmi (1985) 2 NWLR (pt.7) 300 at 346-347, have had Nigerian judges propounding brilliant theories on the subject of judicial bias and integrity such that recourse to English jurisprudence on the subject is now often dispensed with.

Generally, the question of the competence and integrity of judges was hardly in doubt as at the time of independence but it appears that as the system declined, the judiciary also commenced its downward slope into corruption.

Some factors have been argued to have contributed to the decline in both competence and integrity on the Nigerian bench since independence. One of such is the process of appointment of judicial officers. At independence, merit was considered more important than place of origin. It was such that renowned academics such as Dr. Taslim Elias, who was Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, got appointed to the Supreme Court and even went to the World Court as Nigeria’s representative on the International Court of Justice’ Bench. Today, appointments in the judiciary has been afflicted by the turn-by-turn syndrome of a decaying bureaucracy.

The country is being administered as a fragment of ethnic nationalities so its appointments to the judicial arm of government have witnessed an unhealthy rise of the primordial sentimental considerations which have caused a steady decline in the quality of judgments and the society is the worse for it.

Over the years, military rule also contributed to the corruption of the judiciary. The military decrees many times attempted to abrogate and oust the jurisdiction of the courts. The military largely turned the courts to toothless bull-dogs and even where judgments were handed down against arbitrary government actions, they were hardly obeyed thus contributing to the peoples’ apathy towards the capacity of courts to do effectual justice.

Nigeria’s judiciary has rendered capacity-building assistance to fellow African countries such as Liberia, Gambia, Sierra-Leone etc. For instance, the Late Justice Akinola Aguda was once the Chief Justice of The Gambia. Similarly, the incumbent CJN, Justice Aloma Mukthar, would have been the Chief Judge of another African country, but for the fact that she declined and otherwise preferred to continue to render her services to the Nigerian judiciary.

 

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