An Abuja-based human rights lawyer and gender activist, Esther Uzoma, has raised the alarm that judges are no longer safe given the tendency of politicians to politicize decisions of the court, especially those of the Supreme Court.
Ms. Uzoma, who is also the founder of Proactive Gender Initiative (PGI), on Saturday in Abuja warned that the relentless assault on judicial pronouncements and homes of judges was a dangerous signal of clear descent to anarchy.
Daily Trust reports that a group of protesters under the aegis of Bayelsa APC Youth Vanguard for RealChange, on Wednesday led a protest to the Abuja residence of Justice Mary Odili over the apex court’s decision removing Bayelsa Governor-elect, David Lyon, over certificate forgery by his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo.
“The attack on the judiciary by politicians over decisions of the court and now to even protest at the home of a justice to say the least is deplorable and must be halted before it becomes a pattern. This relentless tendency to cast our justice system as a scapegoat for the many difficulties afflicting our country is puerile, mischievous and wholly misplaced.
“To single out one single justice and in this instance a female, speaks to a broader social malaise which seeks to pillory, scapegoat and make the female gender as the archetype of social ills and evil, and this is untenable and foolish. What one had imagined would have happened by now was for the police to have arrested all those who went for the protest and demonstrate that anti-judicial and democratic attempts are not condoned.
“Sadly, the police, known for its over-zealousness when not needed, stood by and allowed hired crowd to put a respected judge and her family in harm’s way and to what end?” Uzoma said.
She wondered why the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was yet to act on the disgraceful conduct and send a strong message to delinquent politicians that they will reject their briefs if they persist in harassing judges and judicial officers in general.
Uzoma urged judges in the country not to shirk their responsibility of being unbiased, impartial and courageous arbiters in the temple of justice.
