Following a revelation by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the FCT gave out grants annually to the Judiciary in Abuja, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Aloma Mukhtar has issued a query to FCT Chief Judge, Lawal Gumi, asking him to furnish her office with explanations concerning the funds and how they were spent.
The action of the Chief Justice followed a petition by the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), which brought out the aspect of the recently published book, The Accidental Civil Servant, where el-Rufai alleged that his administration decided to budget an annual grant to support the Judiciary to procure court recording and automation equipment.
The group made of several other anti-corruption organizations had urged the CJN to investigate the claim.
Signed by Coordinator of the coalition, Olarenwaju Suraj, the group claimed in the petition that it was aware of the grants or allocations, alleging further that they were outside the FCT budget.
“We are therefore, by this petition, demanding that the National Judicial Council (NJC) undertake a thorough investigation into these allocations, their legality and use; and make public the outcome(S) of the investigation to guarantee the respect for and the integrity of the judiciary,” the group, said explaining that the demand was in with other investigations of the NJC aimed at sanitising and repositioning the Judiciary.
It advised that for the Judiciary to earn its respect, the outcome of the enquiry should be made public.
With a copy of the petition attached, the query from the CJN, dated 6th May 2013, stated: “I forward herewith a petition dated 2nd April, 2013 against you by one Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman of Civil Society Network Against Corruption on the above subject matter.
“The petition is self-explanatory. I shall be glad to have your comments within three weeks from the date of receipt of this letter, please.”
