Sack of Justice Wowo in Gambia

Our Reporter August 17, 2013 2 Comments »

Embarrassing reports from The Gambia say a Nigerian judge serving as the Acting Chief Justice of that country was recently sacked after he was caught on tape soliciting a bribe of 500,000 Dalasi (N2.5 million) from a Gambia-based Dutch businessman, to procure a favourable judgment in a land case.
Mr. Joseph Wowo, who was kicked out of the Gambian judiciary in disgrace, was alleged to be involved in an underhand deal with the former Gambian Justice Minister, Lamin Jobarteh, a Dutch national, André Klaarbergen, and his Nigerian lawyer simply identified as Mene, to subvert  the judgment of a Gambian High Court. Interestingly, the recording of the alleged transaction, which has since gone viral on the Internet, had Mr. Wowo admitting that Klaarbergen rightly lost the case at the lower court and was sure the loss would be upheld at the Appeal Court. The recording indicated that the meeting only held to see how Wowo could “help” the Dutch when the case came up for mention in the appellate court.
Mr. Wowo was heard saying on tape: “How much are you willing to offer first so that we can negotiate. You know that based on my position I’m not even supposed to come here in the first place. I’m the President of the Court of Appeal and now I’m acting Chief Justice. I’ve read your file at the Court of Appeal. That is why I said you don’t have any case at the Court of Appeal. You will lose at the Court of Appeal because the way they deal with the case at the Court of Appeal, the lawyer messed it up. That is why I called your lawyer and said let us see how we can help you.”
Jobarteh, a former Gambian Justice Minister then cuts in: “The issue now is how can we (sic) meet each other to correct the problem.” Wowo then   demanded a bribe of 2.5 million Dalasi (N12.3 million) but Mr. Klaarbergen, who complained that his business had been slow lately, offered to pay 500,000 Dalasi, which the disgraced Chief Justice accepted “because of Justice Jobarteh, honourable minister.’’
The sickening video, which has since become the toast of YouTube, also showed Mr. Wowo apparently happy with the sealed deal, asking for his favourite drink, a Guinness or brandy.
Though Wowo and Jobarteh have both been sacked, and Wowo has gone incommunicado, the sad tale leaves a terribly sour taste in the mouth. This blatant bribery transaction has greatly sullied Nigeria’s fragile reputation as a corruption-fighting nation. This is more so as Wowo has not proffered any information by way of defence, whether plausible or not.
This incident has also happened at a time when the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, is battling to clean up Nigeria’s judicial system. With Wowo’s removal from office in such shameful circumstance, his    career has come to a disgraceful end.
His career has not only been destroyed, he has also brought into grimmer disrepute the reputation of other Nigerians working as legal officers in The Gambia.
However, we are of the opinion that this matter is far from being laid to rest. It is not enough that Wowo has been sacked. He should give his own account of the incident to Nigerians, who have been rightly scandalised by this case. We believe he also owes the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) explanations on what actually transpired between him, Jobarteh and the Dutch businessman on the day in question.
The current online campaign against the Nigerian media for publishing this story and the views of those who have condemned the scandal will not help Wowo at all. It is unhelpful to this case condemning the local media for “lack of patriotism” for reporting the story without hearing from the judge, who is a “fellow Nigerian.” The excuse that he was framed up has not been proffered by even the judge himself.
Certainly, the Wowo case ought to be followed up in Nigeria. It is gladdening that the Federal Government has pledged to investigate the matter. As a Minister in the Temple of Justice, this sordid affair has not just tainted Wowo’s wig and gown, it has dragged the Nigerian judiciary and Nigeria’s reputation in the mud.
We enjoin the National Judicial Council (NJC) to take up the matter, verify the accusations against Wowo and pronounce sanctions that are appropriate for its findings. This incident in Gambia, which has mostly depended on Nigerian lawyers and judges for its top judicial offices since its independence, has painted Nigeria in bad light. Although Wowo was recorded on tape, a proper investigation will determine his actual culpability. If found guilty of the offence of soliciting a bribe, he should be visited with the full weight of Nigeria’s criminal laws to send a strong message that the on-going reform of the Nigerian judiciary is on course.