Shettima alleges judiciary facing blackmail

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has alleged that the nation's judiciary is facing some kind of blackmail.

He cautioned that as custodians of the law, the third arm of government must shun the temptation of tinkering with justice to serve parochial interest.

The VP reminded the judiciary that it is an essential pillar of Nigeria's sovereign existence because “a nation is only as accountable, fair, and orderly as the people who make, enforce, and interpret its laws”.

The Vice President, gave the charge in Abuja on Wednesday, when he officially declared open the maiden Body of Benchers Annual Lecture and public presentation of the report of the directions of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.

He cautioned judges and other legal practitioners against yielding to the temptation of tinkering with the law to serve the selfish interests of those he described as agents of anarchy.

“Laws are not mere technicalities; they are the scaffolding of civilisation. Without laws, there is no order. Without order, there is no society. Every time justice is delayed, every time the law is bent to serve the interests of agents of anarchy, and every time institutions waver in the face of blackmail, we erode the very foundation of our nation. And if that foundation crumbles, no matter how high we have built, everything falls apart,” he stated.

Faulting the notion that justice is the wish of the party with the shrillest voice, an impression he referred to as one of the gravest mistakes being made, VP Shettima acknowledged however that the judiciary has lived up to its duty by discouraging such belief, recalling how the court upheld the mandate entrusted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the face of political blackmail.

“In reality, justice is just as essential to the most voiceless individual. It is the clearest affirmation that a nation is not governed by a mob. That is why we recognise that the mandate entrusted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was affirmed by a judiciary that did not yield to the weight of vested interests—a judiciary that understood that the fate of a nation is too sacred to be intimidated by any party or bartered for compromise,” he said.