Retiring Supreme Court Justice Ibrahim Saulawa has warned judicial officers against accepting gifts from politicians and litigants, saying such offers could compromise the neutrality and impartiality of the Judiciary.
Saulawa gave the warning on Tuesday in Abuja during a special court session held at the Supreme Court to mark his retirement from the apex court after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70.
He urged judicial officers to cultivate contentment, integrity, morality and honesty to enable them to discharge their responsibilities without fear or favor.
“Gifts, especially from politicians, can be tempting and irresistible, but judges must be firm in rejecting such offers because they are associated with dangers that can make one fall into traps in the dispensation of justice,” he said.
The retiring justice recalled an incident from his time on the Magistrate’s Court Bench in Katsina, when a prominent fuel and motor dealer, Alhaji Ali Bagobiri, offered him a Peugeot 504.
Saulawa said he rejected the gift despite attempts by Bagobiri to persuade him through the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Usman, and other prominent indigenes.
He said the same fuel and motor dealer, along with an accomplice, later ran afoul of the law and were arraigned before him at the Magistrate’s Court.
According to him, he subsequently found them guilty and sentenced each of them to a fine of N7,000.
Saulawa, therefore, urged judicial officers to reject gifts offered in the course of their duties to avoid compromising the administration of justice.
He also commended his fellow Justices of the Supreme Court for the support, affection and experience they shared throughout their years of service, urging them to continue to uphold the integrity of the Judiciary.
Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, commended Saulawa for his contributions to the development of the Judiciary, from his days at the High Court in Katsina to the Supreme Court.
Kekere-Ekun said the firmness of the retiring justice would be greatly missed on the apex court Bench.
“Today, we gather in this hallowed court to mark the retirement of a distinguished judicial officer, a respected jurist and, above all, a man whose life has been defined by service.
“It invites us to pause, reflect upon a career that has run its course and acknowledge the contribution of one who has shared in the demanding but noble responsibility of administering justice,” she said.
The CJN said the Judiciary would continue to celebrate the values that characterized Saulawa’s career and the example his years of service had provided to generations of judicial officers and members of the legal profession.
“It’s a celebration of a judicial career that has spanned more than four decades and has traversed virtually every level of the Nigerian Judiciary,” she added.
Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Musa Saulawa was born on September 29, 1956, in Katsina, Katsina State.
He attended primary and secondary schools in Katsina between 1965 and 1976 before obtaining a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from Bayero University, Kano, in 1981. He was called to the Nigerian Bar on July 2, 1982.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Urges Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Warns Against Reliance on Deterrence
Saulawa was elevated to the Court of Appeal on June 10, 2006, before his appointment to the Supreme Court on November 10, 2020.
The special court session was attended by former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Justice Mahmoud Mohammed and Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, as well as the Deputy Governor of Katsina State and other eminent stakeholders in the Judiciary.
