Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory Minister, has called for the punishment of Professor Chidi Odinkalu, accusing him of contributing to the degradation of the legal profession through unfounded criticisms.
He made this statement when he received the Body of Benchers, led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), during a visit to him at Life Camp, Abuja. Wike emphasized the need for discipline within the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to protect judicial integrity.
“For the first time in my life as a lawyer, I have seen an unfortunate situation where the NBA, as a body, without a court judgment, will declare that the judgment of a judge is unconstitutional. I have never seen such a thing before. Yes, I can challenge a judgment in court if I have had the privilege of reading it,” Wike stated during the visit.
“You just heard that a judgment has been delivered, yet you haven’t even had the opportunity to read it. The next thing you do is go on national television, start criticizing and maligning, and nothing happens.”
“We have instilled so much fear in our judges and justices that they can’t freely associate. If a judge is going to a mosque or church and sees someone they know, they hesitate to interact because they fear being accused. If they shake hands with someone, people will allege bribery, and a petition will be written claiming the judge was seen shaking someone’s hand,” he continued, indirectly referencing Odinkalu’s public critiques.
“On Saturday, I went to the University of Calabar. The next thing I saw in the papers was a report claiming that a justice escorted me. And someone will sit down and read such a report… Once you see that, you should be able to say, ‘Invite him.’ You don’t just write baseless accusations… If you don’t discipline people, nobody will listen.”
“We cannot continue to allow our profession to be undermined. We cannot continue this way,” Wike insisted. “If you don’t discipline someone, nobody will listen. Okay, can you please invite him? Did you write this—yes or no? We cannot allow the disparagement of our judges and justices—it’s not done anywhere. I think we have a lot of work to do, but first of all, we must instill discipline in our lawyers. Enough is enough.”
