Astonishingly, she has transformed into an autocratic administrative monster in exercising her powers far beyond the dictates of law and expectations of common sense. All the decorum associated with judicial officers of such ranking is meaningless to her even when she is biting more than she can chew or acting beyond the call of duty. It is indicative of the manic nature of her attitude to this new all-time high office that she has arrogated to herself so much more of direct administrative supervision just to lord it over judges and justices. For an office that is already seen to be over-loaded with responsibility, it is absurd that Justice Aloma Muktar has since made matters worse for the system. She has assumed supervision of all justices of the Federal and State High Courts, Court of Appeal and even state chief judges, Grand Khadis, customary court judges and magistrates in the country on such routine issues as leave, travels and payment of entitlements. Apart from seriously impeding the normal pace of administration in the judiciary, this unlawful arrogation of powers creates opportunities for Justice Aloma Muktar to deal with official matters according to her flights of fancy and the dictates of her real and concocted grudges against certain staff.
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CJN Aloma Muktar : Her Imperial Travesty , By Ometere Ovurevu (1)
At the highest level of the NJC where she seeks to preside with imperial majesty and arrogant expression of prejudiced thinking and judgment, there has been a growing list of unjust and irregular procedures in arriving at decisions that often misrepresent the consensus reached during meetings. Justice Aloma has even originated official correspondence to the Presidency based on false premise that was not discovered until transgressions had occurred against innocent officials and justices. The cases of the recently retired justices and those being subjected to unwarranted investigations are typical of the antics of Empress Aloma at her worst.
For example, she wrote to the Presidency that Justice Archibong appeared before the NJC during its investigations into his case which led to his retirement, whereas Justice Archibong never appeared before the NJC as required for fair hearing. When eventually she was confronted with this official misdemeanour, Justice Aloma Muktar claimed it was wrongly inserted in the letter she read and signed before it was despatched to the Presidency! The same Justice Aloma was once so enamoured of Justice Archibong with whom she worked in Jos that she recommended him for appointment to the Court of Appeal. Similar mischief and personal agenda has been found to be at work in the retirement of Justice Narong not unconnected with the favourable verdict he gave in the matter of rtd Col. Olagunsoye Oyinlola and her own barely concealed support and sympathy for Justice Ayo Salami. The travails of Justice Alkali are believed to be preparatory to targeting Justice Lawal Gummi of the FCT for grudges only known to the CJN.
In order to understand the premeditated agenda of Justice Aloma Muktar in selectively hounding fellow justices out of office, it is pertinent to note that since assuming her new office she has cunningly circumvented NJC procedures in dealing with petitions against judges and justices. Prior to her appointment, the NJC had decided that in order to avoid acting on frivolous petitions and trumped up charges of which there are many, all petitions should first be sifted by a committee and those found to be of substance shall then be forwarded to those concerned for their responses. In addition, considering the busy work schedule of judges and justices, the NJC also decided that they be given up to 30 days to respond to such petitions. These reasonable safeguards have been jettisoned by the CJN who not only summarily dissolved the petition-sifting committee under the chairmanship of Justice Baba Usman and took over the responsibility but brazenly also reduced the period for responses to two weeks. The bigger picture of these malevolent manoeuvres of the CJN is unambiguously indicative of a vengeance-seeking or prejudicial mission.
A similar bout of arbitrariness and self-aggrandisement has been introduced into the hitherto transparent and accountable procedure for award of contracts and other transactions in the jurisdiction of the CJN, with particular reference to the shameless imposition of her son of controversial parentage as the sole contractor of the office of the CJN. In one recent instance, the biometric computerization of staff data and records for the entire judiciary was selectively awarded to the lucky man against all known procedure and without even the courtesy of informing staff of an impending biometric exercise. Justice Aloma also ensured that the contract for the purchase of Mercedes Benz cars for new Supreme Court justices was awarded to this same man who quoted prices for importation of the cars that can be bought locally.
What is more disturbing however is the clandestine and calculated moves by the CJN to witch hunt some of her old-time perceived enemies and newly-acquired ones who are bold enough to be frank and fearless in expressing dismay and rejection of the CJN’s autocratic and corruption-prone style of leadership. Under the guise of an ill-informed down-sizing of the number of justices for reforms, the CJN has been literally soliciting for petitions from shadowy characters against her targeted colleagues with a view to preparing grounds for premature retirement and undeserved sackings. This malady has worsened to the point of needlessly revisiting cases concluded by the NJC before her appointment just to pursue her grudges against some judges and justices as recently reported in the Press. In pursuit of this begrudged objective she could not care that even with the current number of justices the work-load is overwhelming, causing unnecessary delay and denial of justice.
With such a litany of indecorous and patently malicious motivations unbecoming of a Chef Justice of Nigeria less than six months into her tenure, there is widespread concern in the judiciary both at the headquarters and in the states that the suitability of Justice Aloma Mariam Muktar for this all important judicial office is suspect to say the least. It definitely calls to question the credibility of the process that led to her appointment, especially at the Senate where in retrospect it is glaring that oversight replaced objective insight into the personal and professional antecedents of this CJN. It is instructive that her incompatibility to the principles of moral rectitude, decorum, sagacity, honour, maturity and good conduct which are sacrosanct in consideration for appointments in the judiciary, have been exposed so soon after her assumption of office. The Nigerian public deserves to know the factual bio-data and relevant records considered by the Senate in approving her sentimental gender-induced nomination for such a high office of responsibility. This should be the first step in embarking on an unavoidable review of her qualifications and suitability that is necessary to save the Nigerian judiciary from imminent implosion.
