Niger State governor, Muazu Babagida Aliyu, has said that only the judiciary arm of government could rescue the nation from the incessant manipulations of the nation’s polity by few individuals to suit their purposes.
Aliyu who presided over the swearing-in of two new high court judges yesterday at Government House, Minna, the state capital, challenged the judiciary to truly brace up to the challenges of being the last hope of the common man.
The governor noted that the political processes in the country had been subjected to the whims of few to the detriment of the majority, and averred that the judiciary was capable of protecting the people from such manipulations which, he said, was destroying the polity.
He said, “Judiciary must be the last hope of the common man. You cannot be intimidated; by the time you are, all hope will be lost.”
“As I always say, the leaders and judges’ actions could easily take them to hell or heaven. That is why, sometimes, when I do certain things, people abuse me; you are just reducing my load,” he added
According to him, the judges and, indeed, leaders must take actions that are fair even if it is against the interest of the high and mighty, as they would be held accountable for all their actions by God, the supreme Judge.
“We must really come together, both as judges and executive, to understand the social menace and the dynamics to do the right things for the common man,” he said.
The judges sworn in were Musa Abdul, who was the state director of Public Prosecution (DPP) until his appointment, and Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, the secretary of the State Judicial Service Commission until she was appointed last week as an high court judge.
The appointments were the first since four high court judges were appointed in 1997.
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