U.S. and Nigerian Judges of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja Share Best Practices and Dissect the Impact of Judicial Transparency and Rule of Law in Sustaining Democracy

 

Barely ten days to Nigeria’s crucial presidential elections originally slated for Saturday February 16, 2019, which was postponed and subsequently held on February 23, 2019, Afrique Sub-Saharan Strategies Ltd (AQS) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State (DOS)/U.S. Embassy, Nigeria, hosted two-days of training for judicial officers in the FCT, Abuja. Participants gained new insights and knowledge on judicial ethics, rule of law, transparency, and best practices in post-election legal challenges. The training was conducted at the behest of Justice Ishaq Bello, the chief judicial officer of the FCT. Some of the jurists who participated at the training, will be playing leading roles in resolving electoral disputes as members and chairpersons of election tribunals that have already been constituted by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed. DOS agrees with the view that the February 2019 Nigerian national elections are a “critical test,” and that the conduct of the elections “could have significant consequences for the democratic trajectory of Nigeria, West Africa, and the entire continent.”

 

The U.S. delegation consisted of the following members: Judge W. Louis Sands, United States Court of Appeals for the Middle District of Georgia, Judge Denise Langford Morris, Sixth Circuit Court, Oakland County, Michigan and Justice Carolyn Wright-Sanders, Chief Justice of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Texas (Ret.). The delegation included Nigerian born, U.S. based attorney & anti-corruption specialist Herbert A. Igbanugo, Esq. (founding partner of Igbanugo Partners Int’l Law Firm, PLLC (IP) and its consulting division AQS), Idika Onyukwu, AQS Director of Africa Operations and media specialist to nine former U.S. Ambassadors, and the distinguished Ms. Paulette Brown, Esq. past president of the American and National Bar Associations (ABA & NBA) and Chair of the Africa Council of the Rule of Law Initiative of the American Bar Association.

 

In his opening remarks, Justice Ishaq Bello emphasized the importance of a sound and independent judiciary as the pillar of any democratic system of government and “if democracy must grow in any society, an independent judiciary and adherence to the rule of law must be sustained,” Justice Bello said. He encouraged participating FCT judges, some of whom have been appointed to the election tribunals, to always aspire to deliver sound judgement based on the venerable principles of the rule of law. A total of 38 judges and 5 Magistrate judges drawn from the FCT Judiciary participated in the two-day training.

 

Speaking further, Justice Bello intimated that no election petitioner should feel neglected and no petition must lapse. “Every election petition case must come to a conclusion within the expected time framework … delayed justice at the election tribunals can be responsible for heating up the political space as petitioners become agitated, aggrieved with a tendency to cause trouble.”

Justice Bello also cautioned the judges at the training to maintain very high levels of responsibility and decorum in the face of provocation that must come in the course of delivering judgments. “Do your work diligently, be transparent and be guided by the rule of law to bring all election cases to a conclusion,” he admonished.

 

 

In their separate breakout sessions during the training program, the visiting U.S. judges promoted the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct including the four canons: 1) A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety; 2) A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently and diligently; 3) A judge shall conduct the judge’s personal and extrajudicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office; and 4) A judge or candidate for judicial office shall not engage in political or campaign activity that is inconsistent with the independence, integrity, or impartiality of the judiciary.

During each individual presentation, the U.S. judges used popular U.S. case studies to show examples of ethics, integrity, transparency, anti-corruption and how to resist interference and obstructions of justice that a judge might encounter from lawyers, friends, elected officials or even judicial superiors.

 

 

Justice Carolyn Wright made a detailed presentation on tackling barriers to effective and fair post election litigation and dispute resolution while weaving in recent and/or present-day examples of corruption and its dreadful impact on the process. Since becoming a Justice of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals of Texas in 1995, Carolyn Wright has participated in over 8,600 appellate court cases and has authored more than 2,100 opinions. Chief Justice Wright has also served in the judiciary for over 20 years.

Ms. Paulette Brown, Esq. also gave a riveting analysis of “Bush v. Gore” and complex details of the post-election challenges during the 2018 elections in the United States. Ms. Brown is a former judge, a mediator for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the first African-American female president of the 400,000 lawyer strong ABA.

 

In his contribution, AQS Director of Africa Operations, Idika Onyukwu, gave an insightful presentation on “The usual suspects involved in Rigging or Manipulating Elections in Nigeria” which included disturbing photos of corruption at the polls, under-aged voting and youth violence at different Nigerian general election sites during past years. Mr. Onyukwu, a media Specialist who formerly served under nine different U.S. Ambassadors in Nigeria, monitored elections in Nigeria from 1999 through the most recent elections in 2015.

 

AQS Chief Executive Officer and founder of Igbanugo Partners International Law Firm Herbert Igbanugo, grasped the Nigerian judges attention when he detailed the draconian provisions and prohibitions of the FCPA, which provides a long reaching basis for prosecuting foreign nationals wherever they are if they violate the FCPA. He also called judicial corruption the “queen mother” and most sordid of all corrupt behavior inflicted on the Nigerian citizenry, lamenting that “the tentacles of corruption run far, wide, and deep in the judicial branch of most African nations.” He concluded by stating that “it is uncontestable that long-term sustainable economic and social development requires democratic governance rooted in the rule of law.”

 

Federal Judge Louis Sands began his presentation with lots of humor as he delighted the Nigerian judges with the news of tracing his ancestral lineage back to the Oduduwa clan. “I am Yoruba by tribe,” he said. And as the participants cheered, Judge Sands reiterated the purpose of the training which was, to share best practices in the principles of rule of law, judicial independence, transparency, and integrity. Being at the center stage of the recent Georgia State elections, he shared some of his experiences from post-election cases he presided over in the State of Georgia.

 

He counseled: “In delivering judgement on cases brought before your courts, please be guided by the rule of law, be fair, be honest and give all parties ample opportunity to present the facts.” Judge Sands also advised the participants to ensure that the public is allowed to observe judicial proceedings openly to ensure transparency to all the litigants involved in the case. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Middle District of Georgia and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6, 1994.

 

During the one-on-one sessions on the second day of the training, the three U.S. Judges (Judge Sands, Judge Wright and Judge Langford Morris) responded to multiple questions and concerns from the FCT judiciary. The most being the fascinating aspect of the U.S. legal system that allows some judicial officers to be elected. Nigerian judges are appointed into office for a specified term.

 

To foster the goals of promoting judicial independence and the rule of law in Nigeria, the FCT judges overwhelmingly agreed that it is important for the Nigerian Legislature to consider a provision of law that would allow retired judges to go into legal practice just like their U.S. counterparts. According to the Nigerian judges, once they serve as a judge whether it is for ten minutes or ten years, they can never practice law again. They can teach but never enjoy the lucrative practices that many American judges engage in following a judicial career.

 

Other handicaps the Nigerian judges face in the course of duty, were the lack of resources i.e., no court reporter or video/audio recording of court proceedings. Instead, the judges must take hand written notes of all proceedings while conducting the hearing or trial, listening to witnesses and lawyers’ arguments. This results in routine objections to the record by counsel to circumvent the judicial decision and or delay the proceedings unnecessarily. This precludes any possibility of a verifiable record, an overwhelming goal for the promotion and sustenance of democracy during the upcoming elections and well-anticipated post-election litigation.

 

Feedback from the participants on the benefits of the judicial training program was swift. Hon. Justice Peter O. Affen of the FCT High Court described the training as “greatly enriching and rewarding,” while anti-corruption crusader, Justice Adebukola Banjoko said, the training offered great insights into the issues of judicial ethics, independence, and is a good tool to fight corruption.”

The two-day judicial training program was held at the Uwais Dispute Resolution Centre, Judicial Service Committee Complex, Gudu District, Abuja, Nigeria, and sponsored by the U.S. DOS’ Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), U.S. Embassy, Abuja.