Judges overexposed to politics – Olanipekun

[Punch]

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun, has said Nigeria's judiciary is being overstretched by the level of its exposure to political matters.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the country's judiciary was being "bombarded" with the highest number of petitions arising from disputed elections in the world.

Olanipekun spoke in Lagos on Friday, while presenting computer laptops to young lawyers in Lagos branch of the NBA branch.  The presentation was part of his N10m endowment fund.

He said, "The ballot box is very sacred, it represents the common wish of all the electorate put together and once we decide not to respect the ballot box, we will be in problem."

Adding that the judiciary was being made to adjudicate on political matters which ought to have been resolved if the sanctity of the ballot box was protected in Nigeria, Olanipekun said Nigerian judges were being tempted.

He  said, "We  are tempting our Judges too much. We are overstretching them. There is no country and I stand to be quoted, there is no country in the universe where Judges are exposed to political matters as much as Nigeria.

"It is only in Nigeria that every election would be contested from the tribunal to the Court of Appeal, then to the Supreme Court.

"Maybe you are not aware of this, apart from the Governor of Lagos State that was spared the agony of litigation during his second term; every other political office holder in Nigeria today, every governor including the president had the imprimatur of judicial pronouncement before they could finally sit comfortably in their respective seats."

The chairman, Lagos branch of NBA, Mr. Taiwo Taiwo, said the country would be a better place if successful lawyers would give back to the society.

Taiwo said, "I remember on July 20, 2011, I told him (Olanipekun) that sir, I have just been made the chairman and 'Taiwo needs money' and he responded immediately by giving us Ten million naira. We have used part of it to sponsor young lawyers to Benin for a seminar on Criminal Justice."



The Punch

[Folami David]

I do not agree with that at all. I think it's just fine the way they engage in politics from time to time. I just do not agree.