Agabi: If Not for Judiciary, Nigeria Would Have Long Disintegrated

*Says it’s better than legislature, executive

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Dr Kanu Agabi, has said if not for the interventions of the courts at different times, the country would have long disintegrated.
He however noted that the nation’s judiciary was better than the legislature and the executive put together, stating that it was the best best arm of government in the country.

Agabi stated this in Abuja on Saturday, at a book launch entitled: “Court and Politics” authored by Dr Umar Ardo, the former Special Adviser on Research and Strategy to former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar.

According to Agabi, “I wish to say that speaking for the judiciary, we have a good judiciary, our judges are competent, it doesn’t mean that every one of them is good, there may be one or two here and there who are failing.
“There’s no system that is perfect, but of the three arms of government, the best arm is the judiciary. The judiciary is better than the legislature. It is better than the executive.

 “Had it not been for the judiciary, this country will long have disintegrated. It is true. I’ve been a lawyer for 51 years. I work in the courts. I’m not an arbitrator. I don’t work for banks. I don’t sell land.
“I work in the courts, and when I tell you that the courts have saved this nation, please believe it,” he said.

Agabi said Nigerian judges should not be blamed for the inconsistencies in judgments, stressing that the laws should be blamed rather.
The former Minister of Justice, who recalled that he was one of the lawyers that worked for one of parties in one of the 11 cases Ardo mentioned in his book, commended the courage and perseverance of the author, saying  justice was according to law, not at random.
“I give you a typical example in election matters. The grounds must be consistent. If the grounds are inconsistent with one another or inconsistent with the relief, such a petition will fail.

 “I did the petition recently where the grounds were inconsistent with one another and inconsistent with the reliefs.
“And Court of Appeal said, well, such a petition is speculative and ought not to be held. That’s the law. It’s not the fault of the judges, and it makes sense,” he said.
Agabi said the reason the courts were congested was because people had filled a number of speculative and frivolous actions with the hope that they could manipulate the judges.

“Sometimes they tire the judges and succeed. More often than not, they fail. It is not because the judges are corrupt or because they’re incompetent. No, it’s the law. The law is set to be dynamic because of the lack of experience, we go on changing them,” Agabi said.
 A former national chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, called for a judicial reforms into political activities as elections ought to be through voting by the people, but lamented that the courts now determine victors at the polls and not the courts.

 “This calls for national discourse. The actions of courts is becoming worrisome to electoral activities. They have consequences. Recall the action of the supreme court in the case of Emeka Ihedioha in Imo State, where the fourth person became the winner of the election,” he said.
 Another former national chairman of PDP, Okwsikieze Nwodo, said the only way to limit the intervention of courts in political parties affairs was for the parties to play by the rules by ensuring internal democracy in the affairs of political parties.

Otherwise, the courts, Nwodo said, must interfere where the rules are not adhered to.