Sunday, February 9, 2014

Serving notice to Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle

This blog has dedicated itself to monitoring the judiciary, particularly the performance of those judges within the system who distinguish themselves as 'mercenary judges', and to bring their behavior and judicial comportment to the attention of the appropriate authorities in their home countries and international organizations that monitor the legal profession.  Meanwhile, we take note that 5 judges from the sub-region are presently in Banjul to attend the Supreme Court sittings.  We hope that this will be extended to include lower court sittings, particularly the Special Criminal Court headed by Justice Emmanuel Nkea of Cameroon.  

We wrote these words back in October.  Now that Emmanuel Nkea has abruptly resigned and fled territorial Gambia to save his skin, we are determined more than ever to continue to pursue these mercenary judges wherever they may be. Terminating their services with the dictatorship and/or fleeing The Gambia will neither prevent us from monitoring their professional activities, at home and abroad nor obviate the need to doggedly pursue them with the view to exposing their lack of professionalism and their corrupt practices.

As regards the newly appointed Acting Chief Justice, Emmanuel Fagbenle, we will continue to monitor his professional behavior and the manner he conducts himself on the bench.  We intend to open a communication channel with both the Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Bar Association regarding Fagbenle's present and future conduct.  The Gambian judiciary must not continue to be used by the dictatorship of Yaya Jammeh as an instrument of repression with the help of the likes of Emmanuel Fagbenle.  We are serving notice to all other judges who fit the description outlined above.