Late Justice Oputa will 'cringe in his grave' - Charly Boy

Charly Boy Oputa

An activist and former President of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Charles Oputa, a.k.a Charly Boy, said in Lagos on Sunday that his late father, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, will be cringing in his grave over corruption in the nation’s judiciary.

He spoke at the 13th Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Memorial lecture and symposium with the theme, “Nigeria Anti-Corruption War: Whither The Legal Profession and The Judiciary?”

“The masses are being corrupted by fear, my father, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, must be cringing in his grave because of the corruption in the nation’s judiciary.

“Corruption has not just become our way of life in Nigeria, but has become our legal tandem.

“The Nigerian people are being looted by all sides, religious leaders are not helping the people, they are continuously hypnotising my people with miracles, signs and wonders,” he said.

Oputa, who said corruption had reached an intolerable level,disclosed that he was currently involved in an activism project designed to tackle corruption and injustice in the country.

He said: “I am involved in a street project titled, ‘our mumu don do’; this is a project through which I believe the judiciary can be cleansed of by a movement led by the masses.

“Lawyers have become contractors, judges have opened mega banks in their homes at their villages, justice in Nigeria comes at a price.”

Noting that not all members of the bar and bench are corrupt, he added:“Not all members of the judiciary and legal profession are bad, but current events have ridiculed the legacy left behind by my father and other legal icons.

“The docility of the Nigerian populace has to be addressed with the emancipation of their minds because the humanity of Fawehinmi no longer exists in the country.”

Prof. Jacob Dada, a Justice of the Court of Appeal in the Gambia, in his speech, said some members of the judiciary and legal profession have sabotaged the war against corruption.

“Not a few members have demonstrated fidelity in the war against corruption, some have sabotaged the corruption fight.

“They are the fifth columnist in the battle against corruption, they have frustrated the expeditious prosecution of corruption cases against high profile individuals,” he said.

On the raids of the homes of judges suspected to be corrupt by the Department of State Security (DSS) in 2016, Dada said:“2016 cannot be forgotten due to the unprecedented raids of the homes of alleged corrupt judges.

“This exposed the legal profession to a lot of public opinion and was a huge dent on the legal profession.

“I will not comment on the legality or otherwise of the raid, but it was caused by the strong perception of the public that justice is available in Nigeria is at a price.

“Some of these perceptions are caused by horrendous and inexplicable delays in the cases of corruption and the delivery of ridiculous and deplorable judgments.