One 2003 morning in late summer, the press gathered outside an Illinois Court. Minutes later, a brown-haired man exited. He’d been granted six-figures in compensation. In 1979, he was sentenced to 50-years imprisonment for a rape that never happened. This was the first wrongful conviction overturned by DNA testing. His name was Gary Dotson.
By that morning of Mr. Dotson’s compensation, DNA testing had exposed miscarriage of justice on a grand-scale in the United States’ criminal justice system. Combined, exonerated innocent persons had served about 1,100-years in jail.
Unending news headlines of perjury committed by state officials and false victims put the lie to United States’ mantra: a nation of laws, not of men. The public’s faith in their courts system was tainted.
To restore public trust, the US criminal justice system launched an inquiry into wrongful convictions. Institutional and unconscious bias was identified, compensation paid, and DNA evidence made standard.
Similarly, in 1997, the British public’s suspicion heightened over Freemasons having “unhealthy influence” in their judiciary, police and prison services, thus, skewed justice.
The then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, swiftly commissioned a bipartisan inquiry. “Openness and disclosure” was recommended to the United Grand Lodge of England. The secret society must voluntarily publish register of members in lieu of legislation mandating them.
In the end, it was revealed masons did occupy upper echelon of UK criminal justice system. But their influence was exaggerated: they are a tiny fraction.
This approach by the US and Britain to launch fact-finding inquiries in light of image tarnishing revelations, and learn lessons thereof, has effectively upheld integrity of their courts and governance in general.
Nigeria’s criminal justice system took a different turn many years ago and paid the price.
On 7, September 1963, Mr. Justice Sigismund Lambo, after listening to both prosecution and defence counsels for a month, sentenced Anthony Enahoro to 15-years imprisonment for treason. And on the following Wednesday, Mr. Justice George Sowemimo, handed Obafemi Awolowo and others (notably Lateef Jankande) a 17-year-concurrent sentence on same grounds.
Both were curious rulings. When delivering his guilty verdict, Mr. Justice Lambo acknowledged discrepancies in evidence of key prosecution witnesses: Sanya Onabamiro, Ibrahim Imam and Anthony Oboh, adding that the last named forged Enahoro’s signature on his supposed evidence, but ruled this was irrelevant.
In Awolowo’s case, prosecution relied much, strangely, upon Awolowo’s dream written in his diary. And book: Twelve Portraits of Power taken from his home library.
About the diary. Awolowo recorded a nightmare [killing a colossal serpent], and wrote it symbolised Action Group (AG) winning most seats at upcoming election. The prosecutor said that was clear evidence of his desire to be President at any cost, even if it meant killing leaders of Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC). And the book evidence of strategies to topple the government.
There was room for Upper tribunal appeals. And if appeals dismissed, to the Supreme Court.
However, public opinion overran court process. Unlike approach of learning from mistakes seen above in US and Britain, the Nigerian government allowed Nigerian public stew in “corrupt judges” and “northern tyranny” sentiment.
Studies on 'Legitimacy and Criminal Justice' consistently conclude public distrust in their criminal justice system is detrimental to legitimacy of their government. In this case, it laid background for Nigerian Civil War, 1967–70.
Cynicism towards the Nigerian system has calcified two generations later. Lawyers openly allege unoriginal “corrupt judges” when judgment goes against their clients. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics 2017 corruption perception report the once highly respected legal profession sits atop list of untrustworthy professionals, surpassed only by the Police. This is dangerous.
Undeniably, nepotism and brown envelopes influence Nigeria’s criminal justice system. However, progress in every human endeavour has come by learning from mistakes. Advancement from Alexander Bell’s telephone to our Smartphones has been through, basically, correcting flaw in a previous model. Criminal justice system is no different.
In our case, we know Nigeria’s States’ and Federal judiciary do not have financial autonomy. Nor do they self-select principals i.e. Attorney-General, Justice Minister, Commissioner for Justice. Politicians, perhaps with both infamous 1963 rulings in mind, usurped these powers for self-preservation.
By a similar process the police, too, has been enfeebled. Nigerian politicians take no cognisance of hierarchy when appointing Inspectors-General of Police — prioritising loyalty. On unacceptable working and living conditions, salary stagnation, the police is now too intimidated to speak up.
For Nigeria’s criminal justice system to improve one step, the judiciary’s and police’s autonomy is non-negotiable. And progress by large degrees will be recorded if we stopped, counterproductively, beating up on the system, but acculturating to learning lessons when miscarriage of justice is revealed.
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