Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project, SERAP and others have berated the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike over his plan to construct 40 housing units in the Katampe District of the FCT for judges. It was learned that the Minister has disclosed his plan to construct a 40 housing units which will be handed over to judicial officers of the Federal High Court, Appeal Court and FCT High Court.
According to Wike, the said project is in line with president Tinubu Renewed hope Agenda for Judiciary, saying about 70 percent of the project’s budget, which covers furnishing has already been provided, where he added that the contractor was expected to hand over the completed project in 15 months.
The former Rivers state Governor revealed that the effort is part of what he described as part of the effort to ensure Judiciary becomes independent through such package and at the same time insulating the judicial officers from external manipulation.
Wike said, “With that, it will be difficult for anybody to manipulate or interfere with their duties. When you have a home, what are you afraid of?
“When you know that salaries and allowances will be paid when you retire when you know that your tenure of office is guaranteed, anybody would be firm, anybody would be courageous to do his or her work,” he said.
“President said it is not every time that we talk about the independence of the judiciary. We must show in practice; we must show in action that we are indeed not saying so but we are doing so, for people to see that we are seriously doing that.
“Mr. President said we must at all times provide housing. But that can only be better if you have an owner occupier, so that every judge will know that at the end of the day, as I’m retiring from office; I have my own home,” Wike stated.
However, SERAP has faulted the move by the minister and also call on state governors to avoid similar gestures through gifting cars and homes to judges.
According to SERAL doing such is tantamount to usurping the powers and responsibilities of the National Judicial Commission, NJC who are the authority responsible for welfare of judges.
SERAP in a statement made available through its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare said it shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel Tinubu’s government and the attorneys general of the 36 states to comply with the organization’s request in the public interest.
“Politicians ought to keep their hands off the judiciary and respect and protect its integrity and independence. Politicians must treat judges with dignity and respect.
“The Nigerian Constitution and international standards make clear that the judiciary is neither subservient to the executive nor the legislature.
It added, “Undermining the fundamental principle of separation of powers risks constraining the power of the judiciary to act as a check on the executive.
“Your government has the constitutional and international obligations to promote public confidence in the judiciary and safeguard the rule of law,” SERAP said.
In a similar manner, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has also condemned the move by the minister, labelling it a blatant example of the executive’s political capture of the judiciary.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA has call on the National Assembly to urgently pass legislation prohibiting judges from receiving such perks from the executive, stressing that the judiciary’s independence is non-negotiable and must be fiercely protected to uphold the rule of law in Nigeria.
“This is a dangerous precedent. When judges are given lands and houses by the executive, a conflict of interest compromises their independence. The allocation of Abuja lands as political patronage to judges is a trap designed to ensure their loyalty to the executive.
“The National Assembly must act to protect our democracy. We need laws that prevent judges from accepting gifts like land allocations from the executive. These gifts are not acts of generosity; they are political tools meant to manipulate the judiciary.
“We have witnessed courts interfering in the internal affairs of political parties, issuing conflicting rulings that throw the political system into chaos. This cannot continue. The judiciary should be the last hope of the common man, not a tool for politicians to disrupt governance and elections,” HURIWA said.
While throwing his weight behind the call, a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, said it is wrong for the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike to provide judges houses and cars, citing that the FCT Minister operates just like a state governor by section 299 of the Constitution, which prohibits him doing certain things.
“The minister cannot say I am going to build 40 houses, 10 shall go to the federal high court, 10 shall go to judges in the FCT high court and 10 shall go to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, no.
“Because you are a minister of the Federal Government like a state governor your budget is limited to the affairs of the FCT.
“So, you cannot as the head of the FCT be dishing out gifts of cars, and houses to judges in the federal high court, in the Appeal Court, and the Supreme Court.
“Number two, you have cases before these courts, on the theory of equality before the court you cannot be seen to be giving cars or houses to the judges who are going to determine your cases,” he said.
Contributing his voice, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, said it is improper for the FCT Minister to build houses for judges, especially that he has a pending case in court, stressing that he wants to use it to pocket the judges.
Ifoh stated that the judiciary has its budget which would cater for all judicial officers, describing the gesture of the executive arm as overreaching.
He described the action of the FCT Minister as a subtle bribe while at the same time calling on the judges to reject such Greek-gift that comes with condition to avoid compromising their office as the last hope of a common man.
In his statement, Ifoh said, “Even though Wike has come out to say that he’s not in any way using it to induce the judges, but, if you give me a house today, there is nothing you will ask me that I will not do for you.
“If these judges rented buildings or houses, it is within their capacity and budget to make those things available for them and not for the executive arm to begin to do things that will be considered as overreaching to the extent that the judges will be getting these kinds of privileges from the executive.
“I think what the FCT minister has done is wrong and it should not be condoned. And as a matter of fact, those judges should reject the gifts because if they don’t, they have collected the forbidden fruit in the eye of the public,” he stated.