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Amidst ongoing campaigns advocating for the judiciary to champion the cause of justice and uphold the integrity of the electoral process, a tribunal judge has sounded the alarm over deliberate attempts by certain influential figures to undermine the integrity of the judicial process.
The chairman of the Kano National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, has been hailed as a beacon of integrity and resilience for her bold stance against attempts by corrupt politicians to compromise the sanctity of justice through insidious gratification and monetary inducements.
Azinge accused a yet-to-be identified Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of lending himself as a pawn in the hands of politicians eager to sway the Tribunal’s judgment through bribery.
Speaking in open court before the commencement of the session on Tuesday in Kano, the judge lamented how senior lawyers particularly engage in the unethical practice, bringing disrepute to the profession.
Conveying her frustration, Azinge said: “A Senior Advocate of Nigeria who has a pending case before me is attempting to bribe me. Money has been flying in this tribunal since yesterday. Whoever collects money on my behalf, God will punish that person and his generation yet unborn to the fourth generation.
She further stressed: “Let me repeat again that nobody should approach me with money again. I’m contented with what God has given me, and I have a roof over my head”.
The gravity of her allegations resonated throughout the legal community, prompting her peers to urge her to escalate the matter to the appropriate authorities.
Reacting to the allegation, the Kano state government has expressed concern over the alleged attempt to influence the Tribunal’s decision.
In a Statement made available to journalists Thursday, the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Halilu Baba Dantiye, said: “The attention of Kano state government has been drawn to an allegation made by the chairman of Kano National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal Hon. Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge…
“The Kano state government views the incidence with a great concern as there is a strong rumour going round that some strong forces within the APC whose eyes are on Kano Election Petition Tribunals are bent on repeating what they did in 2019. They are all out to use whatever means to sway justice as was done previously”.
It would be recalled that the “All eyes on the judiciary” billboards that emerged in Abuja and several other states had led to controversies that led to the suspension of top officials of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCO).
ARCO’s Director General Olalekan Fadolapo, explained that the affected officials had not diligently fulfilled their gatekeeping role, leading to the unauthorized dissemination of the billboard campaign.
A former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and a Public Affairs Commentator Sam Amadi, has urged citizens to support the #AllEyesOnJudiciary movement, emphasizing that it was a patriotic duty to expose any corruption lurking within the judicial system.
“The judiciary is the bastion of truth and justice on earth. If that place is not restored to its priestly order Society is ruined. We have to protect the rivers of justice to keep society’s blood pure & and efficacious. This is why we’re shouting and saying let’s make it accountable.
“The judiciary is not only judges. The judiciary includes lawyers who are probably more corrupt as they get older and more honoured. As a young lawyer with Gani and Olisa we hear stories of these senior lawyers and their atrocities. Judges are more honest than senior lawyers.
“Now you know why #AllEyesOnJudiciary is a patriotic duty of every lawyer. There’s corruption in the judiciary,” Amadi said.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the fervour surrounding the #All Eyes on the Judiciary campaign has refused to wane by the removal of the campaign billboards and suspension of ARCO officials.
Civil Society Organisations and individuals are now printing branded items and stickers, determined to assert their commitment to justice and sustain the momentum of the movement.
A campaigner told our reporter: “I got really pissed at the Billboard issues, but I also got motivated. Now I have started printing stickers. We will be in their faces whether they like it or not”.