By Damilola Samuel
Retiring Supreme Court Justice Ibrahim Saulawa has urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to take action against politicians who send cows, rams and other gifts to judicial officers, describing the practice as demeaning to the judiciary.
Saulawa spoke on Tuesday at a valedictory court session held in his honour in Abuja, marking the end of his 44-year legal career after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70.
“Why should a politician send a ram, cow or other items to a Supreme Court Justice? It is unheard of in other countries,” the retiring Justice said.
“I am calling on the CJN to do something about this. I once raised the issue. It is demeaning and equally frustrating,” he added.
Saulawa recalled an instance when an influential person attempted to influence him with a brand new Peugeot vehicle before a case was decided.
According to him, he rejected the vehicle despite efforts by prominent figures, including the Emir, Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Usman, and District Head, Alhaji Balan Goggo, to persuade him to accept it.
“Prior to the case, the Alhaji had donated to me a brand new Peugeot motor vehicle, which I flatly rejected,” he said.
The former Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal also used the occasion to recount his role during the legal crisis surrounding the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He said conflicting court orders had emerged from different courts over the conduct of the election and announcement of its results, which he attributed to what he described as military attempts to interfere with the judiciary.
Saulawa said that, as Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, he travelled from Lagos to Kaduna on the directive of the then President of the Court of Appeal, Justice M. Akanbi, to take control of the court’s registry and ensure that appeals filed by the National Electoral Commission were properly processed.
“Appeals were filed at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, by the NEC. As the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, and the only spokesperson thereof, I flew from Lagos to Kaduna and took effective control of the Registry and supervised the registering of the appeals and the issuing of the appropriate court processes to the respective parties to the appeals,” he recalled.
He said the judiciary resisted what he described as attempts by the military to infiltrate the courts, adding, “We actually did all we could do to frustrate the military.”
Saulawa also criticised the practice of “forum shopping”, which he said contributed to the conflicting court orders during the crisis, insisting that the judiciary at the time deserved “a gold medal.”
Meanwhile, the CJN described the retiring Justice as “a man whose life has been defined by service,” recalling an earlier encounter in which both of them rejected an attempt to compromise judicial integrity.
She said the experience demonstrated that “the integrity of the judicial office admits of no compromise and that even the appearance of impropriety must be guarded against.”
At the ceremony, representative of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Damien Dodo, SAN, expressed concern over the poor attendance of lawyers, with only six SANs and 13 other lawyers present.
Dodo attributed the turnout to miscommunication and said it did not reflect Saulawa’s standing, describing him as a jurist who served the country “with granite integrity.”
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, represented by the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, also commended Saulawa for his years of service and wished him a happy retirement.
