Sanction Odinkalu, His Judiciary Criticism Is Instilling Fear In Our Judges– Wike Tells Body Of Benchers
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has urged the Body of Benchers to take disciplinary action against Professor Chidi Odinkalu, accusing him of tarnishing the legal profession through public criticism of the judiciary.
Wike made the appeal during a meeting with the Body of Benchers, led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, where he stressed the importance of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) maintaining discipline and upholding judicial integrity.
“We have instilled so much fear in our judges and justices that they can’t freely associate,” Wike lamented. “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.”
Referring indirectly to Odinkalu’s criticisms, he continued, “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, we cannot continue to allow our profession to be undermined.”
Wike emphasized the need for decisive action, stating, “We cannot continue this way. 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.”
In response to Wike’s call for sanctions, Odinkalu took to Twitter, dismissing the demand and asserting that Wike’s story would be told in due time.
