A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has lamented the newfound love between judges and politicians, saying it is destroying democratic legitimacy in Nigeria.
The law professor said politicians and governors, having realised that the votes of the masses don’t count, have decided to court judges by frequently donating Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to the judicial officers to win electoral cases.
Odinkalu was a guest on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television on Friday.
According to him, politicians tell their contenders to approach the courts after a contentious electoral process, and “the courts rule that they have won, democracy has won. So, judges are being used to destroy the system”.
He said, “In this economy, you buy a V6 or a V8? It’s beyond idiotic and it is aggravating. They (governors) have bought four-wheel drive for senators and members of the House of Representatives. State governors have bought four-wheel drive for their state legislators. They are donating four-wheel drive to the judiciary all over the country.
“We have this outbreak of acquisitive-ness, an epidemic of crass acquisitiveness that is ridiculous. Why do they do all of these? It’s procurement. When they do that, they take more money into their pockets than they actually give away. It’s an excuse to acquire.”
The human rights activist lamented that governors continue to donate expensive vehicles to their cronies when there are no equipped hospitals and standard schools in their domains.
“There are no hospitals, there are no schools, there are no roads. And so we have to buy private healthcare overseas. We have to send our children to private schools overseas. We have private helipads and now we have private jets and private airstrips. We have private security also. That is the problem,” he said.
‘True Reforms Must Start With INEC, Judiciary’
Odinkalu said true democratic reforms must start with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the judiciary and anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“This is why I have settled for INEC and the judiciary. That is where it begins,” he said.
“They have sworn in new judges of the high courts and new justices of the Appeal Court. Did you see the number of state governors who were there? The number of senior politicians who were there?
“Politicians hosting receptions for judges and the judges going because the politicians know that our votes don’t count; what counts is the votes of judges and they are deliberating courting the judges.
“This judicial walkaround on processes of legitimacy has essentially destroyed democratic legitimacy and popular legitimacy in the people as a foundation of democracy. People are wondering why we are not getting the dividends of democracy when our votes don’t matter.”
“There are institutions we cannot afford to go bad. And I count three among those. In no particular order, INEC, the judiciary, and anti-corruption agencies. And that’s why I go hard on them in my private and public intellectual life. I go hard on them because these are the sentinels on the door of the people who will inflict destitution on the country or secure the country. And if we don’t make these institutions work, it is going to be impossible to save the country,” Odinkalu added.