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Tinubu to judges: Spare nobody, do justice without fear or favour!
From President Bola Tinubu came a clear message to Nigerian judges on Monday – ensure speedy justice delivery to all manner of persons, according to law and without fear of favour, affection or ill-will.
Urging the judicial officers to be blind to a litigant’s status or tribe, the President at inaugurating the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division building complex, Dakibiyu, warned them that a compromised legal system threatened democratic stability.
Decrying widespread citizen frustration with prolonged case backlogs and slow adjudication, Tinubu, who was represented by Kashim Shettima, Vice President, maintained that the administration of justice must be both fair and swift so that the common man can have confidence in the judiciary as his last hope.
Stressing that constructing the new Court of Appeal complex reinforced his Renewed Hope Agenda and his administration’s determination to give the operators of the nation’s justice system a befitting home, he said the judges must reciprocate by doing untainted justice.
He said: “To My Lords Justices, as you move into this complex, Nigeria asks one thing of you: let justice be swift. Let it be fair. Let it be blind to status, tribe, or purse. Let the common man feel that this Court is truly his last hope. On this note, and to the glory of Almighty God, I hereby commission the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division Building Complex, for the service of justice and for the benefit of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The President, while stressing the import of the project, stated that it was unacceptable that the Abuja division of the appellate court operated from a cramped, temporary space for too long, adding that a nation seeking justice must respect the temple of justice.
His words: “When I visited and saw the condition, I gave a simple instruction: fix it. Today, we have fixed it. I must commend the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for timely delivery and for domesticating his demonstration’s judicial reforms in the nation’s capital.
“You took the assignment to deliver this project in May 2024. By July, contractors were on site. You promised 16 months. You delivered in record time. No excuses. No variation. Just results. Nigerians can see the difference. We are proud of your dedication to duty.
“This project aligns with my administration’s priorities which aims to improve governance and the rule of law by implementing judicial reforms, restructuring the judiciary, and increasing funding to ensure a just, rule-based society.
“This complex is world-class. With two large and eight smaller courtrooms, cases will now receive speedy attention. This will go a long way toward ensuring justice for all, upholding the rule of law, maintaining law and order in the Federal Capital Territory, and reducing congestion in our correctional centres. This is how you honour the Judiciary. This is how you strengthen democracy.
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the Renewed Hope Agenda is not a slogan. It is action. We said we would restore the dignity of our institutions. We are doing it for the Judiciary. We are doing it in health, education, roads, and power. Brick by brick, we are rebuilding Nigeria.”
Thanking the FCT Minister further for domesticating his administration’s policies on judicial reforms, the President said, “I am therefore pleased by the concrete efforts made by the Minister of the FCT to domesticate this policy thrust by building more courts, constructing befitting residences for judicial officers, digitising judicial processes in the Territory, and providing solid support for legal education.
For the judges, Tinubu acknowledged that they serve the nation under immense pressure, even as he listed what he described as the heavy docket being carried by the Abuja Division of the appellate court, including election petitions, constitutional matters.
“The eyes of Nigeria are on you. You deserve an environment that matches the weight of your responsibility. This complex is not a favour. It is your right. And we will do more,” he added.
Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, President of the Court of Appeal, who had noted that the impact of the complex on the administration of justice cannot be overemphasised, said before the court complex was built, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal was operating with only two courtrooms, adding that the lack of infrastructure had slowed the speedy delivery of justice over the years.
Stressing that importance of the project, she expressed confidence that the new complex will significantly improve the speed at which matters are resolved, stressing that the structure of the justice system must reflect the legal system it serves, thanking the President Vice President, and the FCT Minister for recognising the need to improve the justice sector as one of the institutions that guarantees stability and democracy.
Wike, who said he had informed Tinubu of the need to intervene in the deplorable state of the court, stated that the President not only approved the provision of a befitting complex for the Court of Appeal, as well as residences for judges, but also ordered interventions in the National Industrial Court, the Federal High Court, and the Code of Conduct Tribunal in the FCT.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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