At Last, Naron Gets What He Deserves

National Judicial Council, NJC wields the big axe on some crooked judges  and recommends disciplinary action for a lawyer

For Justice Thomas D. Naron and Justice Charles Archibong, the chickens have come home to roost. The National Judicial Council, NJC, recommended their immediate retirement after an emergency meeting held on the night of 20 February 2013, presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, at the Supreme Court Complex in Abuja.

The NJC’s recommendation for the immediate, compulsory retirement of Justice Archibong of the Federal High Court and Justice Naron of High Court of Justice, Plateau State has been forwarded to President Goodluck Jonathan for approval.

Part of Justice Archibong’s sins, for which he was investigated by the council was his dismissal of the grievous charges against an accused without taking his plea. The judge also refused to release the certified true copy of his ruling to the lawyers and issued bench warrant on some officials of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for contempt, even when the counsel that was  directed by the court to serve them filed an affidavit that he had not been able to serve the contempt application.

Some scathing, unfounded and caustic remarks made by the sacked jurist on the professional competence of some senior advocates of Nigeria also added to his woes.

He berated some prominent senior advocates of Nigeria, including Joseph Daudu, former NBA president, Kayinsola Ajayi, Emmanuel Ukala, A.B. Mahmoud and Damien Dodo, accusing them of incompetence.

He took it further by directing the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, to disband and debrief them in the case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against Mr. Erastus Akingbola, former Intercontinental Bank boss.

Justice Naron’s indictment was premised on his involvement in a plot to thwart the course of justice while he presided over the First Osun State Election Petitions Tribunal. It was established that the tribunal was compromised by agents and lawyer of deposed Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Mr. Kunle Kalejaiye, a senior advocate.

The judges, oblivious of the fact that their calls were being monitored, exchanged information on phone in a plot to snatch victory for Oyinlola at the expense of the petitioner, Engr. Rauf Aregbesola, governorship candidate of the Action Congress in the 18 April 2007 election. Justice Naron was investigated by the NJC for the scandalous ruling he led three other judges to give at the first election petitions tribunal. A clear case of judicial brigandage.

While Justice Naron is being brought to book, the NJC referred the case of Kunle Kalejaiye to the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. Oyinlola’s eventual sack as ordered by the court of Appeal lifting Aregbesola into the gubernatorial saddle, was a classic case of justice reinstated after the denial for several years.

According to a recent release signed by the Acting Director of Communication at the NJC, Soji Oye, findings by the council revealed that there were constant and regular voice calls and exchange of mms and sms (text) messages between Justice Naron and one of the lead counsels for one of the parties to the suit in the First Osun State Gubernatorial Election Tribunal, contrary to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In July 2008, in a journalistic breakthrough unprecedented in Nigerian history, TheNEWS published the details of some of Justice Naron’s calls to Kalejaiye and Kalejaiye’s SMS to Justice Naron. Justice Naron’s sms to Kalejaiye were also published. Between 1 December 2007 and 14 April, 2008, Naron called Kalejaiye 46 times using his MTN line and Kalejaiye sent the judge several text messages.

The consistent calls and text message exchange by the judge and Kalejaiye underlined the fact that there was a personal affinity suggesting a level of conspiracy with the aim of subverting justice.

Meanwhile, according to Rule 34, Rule of Professional conduct for Legal Practitioners (2007),” a lawyer should not do anything or conduct himself in such a way as to give the impression or allow the impression to be created that his acts or conduct are calculated to gain or have the appearance of gaining special personal consideration or favour from a judge.”

But the regular telephone conversations and exchange of text messages were pointers to the fact that a compromise was being reached. TheNEWS investigations proved that the opening of phone conversations between Naron and Kalejaiye marked a turning point in the conduct of the Tribunal to parties in the governorship tussle. Moreover, before December 2007, when Naron and Kalejaiye got talking on phone, the tribunal appeared fair and balanced to a reasonable extent. It even gave a nod to the request by the petitioners to support their case through the use of scientific means to buttress their claims that the governorship election in Osun State was rigged.

Forensic experts were allowed to examine and scan the electoral materials. But by 1 December, when Naron and Kalejaiye commenced their phone conversations, the tables turned against Aregbesola’s legal team.

Curiously on 18 February, 2008 the tribunal gave a thumbs down to the presentation of the results of the forensic examination it had earlier approved. It was eventually ascertained that before key rulings were made, Kalejaiye usually sought advice on the next to step to take. The pattern was that on the eve of key rulings the lawyer usually got in touch with the judges, planning with them what next move to make.

Curiously When Kalejaiye was interviewed by TheNEWS in July 2008 concerning the unethical practice of lawyers attempting to influence judges, he condemned the act in strong terms, telling the magazine’s reporter that such a move is abominable. “I want to tell you that for a lawyer to romance a judge or be a conduit to pass money to a judge to influence him is reprehensible, bad and ungodly,” he said.

Now he faces disciplinary action from the NBA.

—Funsho Balogun & Felix Nnamdi/Abuja