The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, recently decided to attend the foundation-laying ceremony for the construction of 40 housing units (owners-occupiers) for various categories of judicial officers in the Federal Capital Territory. This decision has caused a lot of controversy, especially on social media.

This research polled the opinions of top legal practitioners and included background information from Vanguard’s Law & Human Rights.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Nigeria’s Chief Justice, officially opened the design and construction of a historic N50 billion housing project for Justices of the Court of Appeal, Federal High Court, and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court judges in Abuja on October 21, 2024.

Situated next to the Ministers’ Quarters in Mabushi in Katampe, a developing Phase 2 District of Abuja City known for its tranquil surroundings and breathtaking views, the massive project occupies 5.2 hectares of land and is divided into three sections for Abuja’s three categories of judges: Justices of the Court of Appeal, Federal High Court Judges, and High Court of the FCT Judges.

In addition to 40 units of 5-bedroom duplexes and 40 units of 3-bedroom boys quarters, the undeveloped land, which was previously allotted to Julius Berger approximately 15 years ago before it was recently revoked, is intended to house three event centres, three corner stores, three power generating plants, three security houses, a playground in each of the three sections, and related property infrastructure, such as the internal road network and dedicated transformers.

Ten housing units will be assigned to justices of the Court of Appeal, ten more to justices of the Federal High Court, and the remaining twenty to judges of the High Court of the FCT, according to the Federal Capital Territory’s Minister.

It is implied that the justices of the Court of Appeal will have a section of the project that includes ten units of five-bedroom duplexes, ten units of three-bedroom boy’s quarters, an event centre, a corner store, a power generating plant, a security house, a playground with an internal road network, and a dedicated transformer. The Federal High Court justices will also have a section of the project that is designed similarly.

However, there will be 20 five-bedroom duplexes, 20 three-bedroom boy’s quarters, an event centre, a corner store, a power generating plant, a security house, a playground, an internal road network, and a specialised transformer in the third portion, which is intended for the FCT’s high court judges.

According to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, the initiative was started by the Tinubu administration to protect the third branch of government from excessive meddling and compromise, as well as to improve the welfare of judicial personnel.

Justice Kekere-Ekun, the nation’s top judge, was invited by Wike to officially launch the housing units’ construction.

The Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice John Tsoho, the Chief Judge of the High Court of the FCT, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, were among the other court leaders who attended in person.

In accordance with the founding fathers’ vision that judges should be appropriately housed in government-provided quarters to ensure the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary, all attendees took turns praising President Tinubu’s administration’s efforts to invest in the judiciary and improve the welfare of judicial officers nationwide.

But shortly after the event, a prominent columnist, scholar and former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, posted on his X-handle to raise concerns about the project. He asked why the CJN was there and expressed concern about the Executive’s plan to start a project of this kind for the judiciary on land that had been taken from Julius Berger, a construction giant.

“A judge shall avoid developing excessively close relationships with frequent litigants—such as government ministers or their officials, municipal officials, police prosecutors in any court where the judge frequently sits, if such a relationship could reasonably create an appearance,” Odinkalu wrote, drawing attention to himself by citing Rule 2.8 of the Judicial Code of Conduct (2016).

The widely shared tweet sparked a range of responses from online users who seemed to have differing opinions.

Not content, Prof. Odinkalu authored an article on the same topic on October 28, 2024, explaining why he believed the CJN, along with other court heads, ought to have disassociated herself from the incident.

Additionally, the piece has gone viral and stirred some debate.

Vanguard discussed the matter with a number of prominent solicitors. They shared their personal opinions about Prof. Odinkalu’s tweet and paper, calling the discussion pointless and an overly harsh judgement.

For example, they contended that Wike should be praised rather than demonised because he did not initially use personal funds to finance the project.

CJN did not do anything incorrect.– Professor George, SAN

Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, a professor of public law, disputed with the idea that the CJN’s attendance at the event violated Rule 2.8 of the Judicial Code of Conduct (2016).

“I definitely don’t agree with those criticising the CJN on this,” he said. Judicial independence is not a static concept. The CJN would be failing in one area of her responsibility as the head of the judiciary if you said she shouldn’t have gone. She needs to support her. Even though the executive came up with the idea, she must support that sort of endeavour. And the CEO can inevitably be the source of such schemes. We do not have a strict separation of powers because of this. There can never be a complete separation of powers. Interaction between all government entities must continue. However, each judge’s independence of thought is what matters.

What would happen if someone in your class held an executive position? You mean that because you went to the same school and are classmates, you must not interact with them? There are classmates for the CJN. She has classmates in every branch of government. Therefore, I believe that we shouldn’t approach independence in a limited way. We shouldn’t handle things in such a mechanistic manner. Being independent is a mental concept. You don’t have to be independent to be physically distant. You may be physically apart without ever meeting and still have a submissive mindset. The maturity is what matters. Additionally, we need to consider our judges’ knowledge and maturity.

People’s suggestions that the court should engage with the political elite as little as possible are commendable. I agree with it. However, we must not let any of these notions prevent us from carrying out an official administrative role in an efficient manner. It’s equivalent to claiming that the Chief Justice cannot be sworn in by the President. It’s going to be absurd. This, in my opinion, is not what the constitution intended when it spoke of the separation of powers.

Once more, it is absurd to claim that Wike started the initiative in order to win over the judges. Wike is not carrying out the project with his own money. We should applaud him for utilising his position to further the interests of the judiciary rather than just serving as a life bencher.

Again, the idea that Wike launched the project to appease the judges is ludicrous. Wike is not using his personal funds to complete the project. Instead of merely acting as a life bencher, we should commend him for using his position to further the interests of the court.

“For many years, we have been begging successive administrations to keep judges in office and provide them with housing; instead of constructing official quarters, we should build owner-occupier homes so that these judges feel empowered.” Once empowered, they won’t wait for the government’s mood to accomplish what they need to do. Therefore, I disagree with the notion that the court would be subordinate since the initiative was started by the executive branch of government.

However, we do not denounce those who have brought up this issue. All we need to do is remind our judges that they ought to be independent, that they are carrying out their official duties, and that the executive branch is not acting in this way to appease judges. “That’s not the goal,” he said.

The executive, OCJ Okocha, SAN, provides court initiatives that need contracting.

Speaking on the subject, Mr. OCJ Okocha, SAN, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, or NBA, stated that he did not agree with the claim that the CJN should not at all

I don’t agree. I’ve read an article about this topic written by Chidi Odinkalu. That is a man who frequently criticises judges and the legal system. I overheard the criticism stating that the CJN, the President of the Court of Appeal, and the judiciary should not have been present at the ceremony. that their suspicion that Wike could be in court prevented them from being there. A man cannot be prevented from performing his duties. Contracts for court construction shouldn’t be given out by the judiciary. The executive branch’s provision of such amenities, such as cars for judges, magistrates, and other judicial personnel, is quite acceptable.