Justice Ayoola Rejects Calls For Former Supreme Court Justices to Head NJC

Former Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola, has described as “illogical” the call that retired Justices of the Supreme Court should be heading the National Judicial Council (NJC) instead of the incumbent Chief Justice.

He also called for a recreation of value drivers, destroyed by successive administrations, to fight corruption in Nigeria.Justice Ayoola in an exclusive interview said he was surprised that many people have been calling for the amendment of the NJC Act to allow former Chief Justices to head the body.

He said: “I have a different opinion about that. I would not think that is necessary because in some countries where they have similar bodies, they do not invite outsiders to be participants. The Judiciary takes care of such things by itself. I still prefer the CJ to chair it.”

Ayoola who retired as a Supreme Court Justice also lampooned the image crisis rocking the Judiciary in recent times over the arrest of some Judges by men of the Department of Security Services (DSS) said the implication was too serious to be quantified now.

The former Chief Justice of Gambia, who said it was debasing for Judges to be accused of corruption, said nothing should tempt a Judge to seek or collect a bribe.

He said: “I think it is a shame that such thing is alleged to be happening. I am a member of NJC; the cases in which we recommended that Judges be removed are not cases of corruption. But we have few cases of corruption against Judges.”

He, however, disclosed that he has never received bribe because nobody ever approached him to offer a bribe. His words: “I feel one kind that I never had the opportunity of rejecting bribe because nobody has ever approached me throughout my career as a Judge, here in Nigeria or elsewhere.”

He also advised Judges against exposing themselves too much to the public as “familiarity leads to approachability”, which he said could lead to unnecessary temptation.

The Octogenarian, who called for a recreation of value-drivers, said such group is necessary to uphold the values and fight corruption. According to him: “When you look at the Nigerian society today, you find that there is no more value driven group, the religious leaders are in their own specific value leader category where they offer value leadership, when you look at traditional rulers, you find them in a special group, so also are Judges and Senior public officers, but we have destroyed all that.”

He also called on the Judiciary to create an International Criminal Division instead of taking cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which some African countries are planning to quit.