Inibehe Effiong Criticises Acting CJN For Attending Dinner With Buhari

Inibehe Effiong, a legal practitioner has criticised Ibrahim
Mohammed, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for breaking
Ramadan Fast With President Muhammadu Buhari.

Late Thursday night, photos of the president and the top jurist
winning and dinning alongside other members was released to the
public. Our corrspondent gathered the photographs were taken at the
breaking of Ramadan Fast, a religious practice among Muslims in the
country.

Mr Effiong, a Human Rights Activist, said Mohammed ought not
dine with the president because he is a judicial officer who will
definitely attend to the election petition challenging the outcome
of the exercise that produced Buhari for a second term in
office.

The presidential election held earlier in the year is currently
being challenged by Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), who lost to the Nigerian leader who is
expected to begin his second term next week.

Mr Abubakar, a former vice president is currently at the
Presidential Election Tribunal praying he been declared winner of
the February 23 exercise based on results allegedly gotten from the
electronic serves of the electoral body that conducted the
election.

Criticising Mohammed over his action, Effiong said public
perception and appearance of impropriety were some of the reasons
why judicial officers usually live a reclusive life, devoid of
serious social contacts.

The activist who stated that Judges, unlike lawyers, are not
allowed to associate or mingle with the society they live in, added
that the fact that a judicial officer is also the head of the
judicial arm of government does not change the ethical
standard.

“I know in this country, we wickedly use religion as an alibi to
evade responsibility and conceal the truth,” he said in a Facebook
post on Friday.

“Breaking Ramadan fast is not an official function, it is not
part of the obligations of the office of the Honourable Chief
Justice of Nigeria in any way. It is a personal thing. And if I
were a judicial officer, let alone the most senior judicial officer
in the country, I would not be breaking fast or paying Christmas
visit to the President of Nigeria.

“If I must do it, it will not be to a President who is a
notorious violator of the rule of law. If I have to dine with a
President who disobeys court orders, it will certain not be at a
time when the same President is a litigant before a Tribunal
hearing a petition against his election, knowing that the decision
of that tribunal will most likely come before me in the Supreme
Court. I will think about the perception of right thinking members
of the society before dining with that President,” Effiong
said.

The lawyer who quoted 2016 Rule 1 of the Code of Conduct for
Judicial Officers to back up his claim noted that Judges are
required to avoid social contacts as much as possible. He said the
CJN should be the shining example as Justice is rooted in
confidence and not in legal technicalities.

The quoted guideline for Judicial Officers is reproduced
below:

RULE 1 OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS OF
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 2016 STATES THUS:

Propriety and the appearance of propriety, both professional
and personal

1.1 Propriety and the appearance of propriety, both professional
and personal, are essential elements of a Judge’s life. As members
of the public expect a high standard of conduct from a Judge, he or
she must, when in doubt about attending an event or receiving a
gift, however small, ask himself or herself the question- “How
might this look in the eyes of the public?”

1.2 A Judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of
impropriety in all of the Judge’s activities both in his
professional and private life.

1.3 A Judicial Officer should respect and comply with the laws
of the land and should conduct himself at all times in a manner
that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality
of the Judiciary.

1.4 The Judge must be sensitive to the need to avoid contacts
that may lead people to speculate that there is a special
relationship between him and someone whom the Judge may be tempted
to favour in some way in the course of his judicial duties.

1.5 A Judicial Officer must avoid social relationships that are
improper or may give rise to an appearance of impropriety or that
may cast doubt on the ability of a Judicial Officer to decide cases
impartially.

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Edinburgh Invites Nigeria Military to Participate in
Global Musical Festival

The Chief Executive Officer and Producer of the Royal Edinburgh
Military Tattoo ( REMT), Brigadier David Allfrey (retired) has paid
a visit to the Defence Headquarters Abuja. The visit which is part
of his country tour to Nigeria aims at promoting the performance of
military tattoo music in Nigeria and sensitising the Defence
Headquarters on the possibility of the Armed Forces of Nigeria
participating in the annual event scheduled to hold at the
Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in Scotland later this year.

Speaking during the visit, Brigadier Allfrey noted that the
annual series of military tattoo music has transformed to
fascinating artistry performances and relieves the historical and
cultural heritage of the Armed Forces. He therefore used the
occasion of his visit to the DHQ to extend invitation to the Armed
Forces of Nigeria to participate in the festival alongside other
countries billed to perform at the international event.

According to the REMT Boss, the military tattoo segment of
Edinburgh Cultural Festival has become a high point of the Cultural
Festival with millions of viewers across the globe and about 9000
spectators watching the command performances on a daily basis
throughout the one month duration of the event. He, therefore,
reiterated his organisation’s readiness to have the AFN band
“showcase the rich historical and cultural heritage of Nigeria”
alongside about 55 participating countries during the command
performance at the International Festival.

The REMT is part of the Edinburgh Cultural Festival, which is an
annual featuring series of military tattoo performed by the British
Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International partners every August
at the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.

In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General
Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin thanked the CEO/ Producer of REMT for
visiting the DHQ as part of his sensitisation tour and lauded him
for promoting military tattoo music.

Represented by the Chief of Defence Policy and Plans, Air Vice
Marshal Nurudeen Balogun, the CDS said the AFN is looking forward
to a formal invitation to be part of the Nigerian contingent to the
event, stressing that the gesture would indeed avail the AFN and
its British counterpart opportunities to strengthen existing
bilateral relationship.

The tattoo is a military term used to describe a combination of
sounds produced from bands and bugles, performance of music or
display of Armed Forces intended to pass specific instructions and
commands to troops during war and peace time. It was initially a
form of military parade music, but has evolved into more extensive
form involving theatrics and musical performances. It is also used
to designate military events such as reveille, sounded during the
Armed Forces and Remembrance

ONYEMA NWACHUKWU
Colonel
Acting Director Defence Information