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Access to Justice Condemns the Attack on Magistrate Joseph Garba Shinga

On Wednesday 21 st of March, 2007, the nation woke up to another rude shock of how Mr. Joseph Garba Shinga, a presiding Magistrate in a criminal trial of the gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP) in Gombe State, Alhaji Abubakar Hashidu, was macheted in open court by miscreants reportedly loyal to the accused person after the ruling of the court that the accused should be remanded in prison custody until the case comes up on a later date.

Access to Justice totally condemns the act of these assailants as a threat to the independence of the judiciary; the attack is contemptuous of the sanctity of the judiciary and an undue interference with the administration of justice. A judge should be allowed to exercise the judicial function independently based on the judge’s assessment of the facts before him and in accordance with a thorough understanding of the law, free from any external influences, inducement, pressures and threats to life from any quarter whether friend or foe.

The present attack on the Magistrate once again brings to fore the need for reinforced security for Judges, particularly within the context of matters tied to political stakes in the forthcoming elections. The process of adjudication ordinarily carries a significant risk of volatile reaction from feuding parties even in many societies, including ours where disputants are driven beyond reason by banal passion.

An incident such as this brings to the fore ground the often-expressed concern over the state of security services. Before now, about two decades ago a judicial officer was accorded maximum security whenever conclusion of homicide cases is on ground. But today, Magistrates drive themselves, begging for space on city roads, exchanging abuses with commercial bus drivers on the road. It is simply deplorable.

An independent judiciary is essential to the rule of law. The judiciary and its officers must at all times be independent of external influences. Their independence and impartiality must be preserved as they serve as a check against the two other branches of government. The judiciary is the last hope of the common man and therefore any pressure on them by politicians is counter productive, harmful and unacceptable to a democratic system.

Against this background, Access to Justice decries the conduct of these miscreants as undermining the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and true democratic values. We urge the leadership of the judiciary to guard against future occurrences. We also call on the leadership of the Nigerian Police to secure the lives of judicial officers most especially when political cases will be adjudicated upon as we count down to the elections.

Signed

For Access to Justice

Joseph Chu’ma Otteh                           Tolulope Oluwaranti
Executive Director                          Programmes Attorney