The Christian Lawyers Forum(CLF) has condemned the the harassment and intimidation of the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Mr. Emmanuel Gakko by a ‘faceless’ group.
CLF was responding to a statement credited to Young Advocate Against Corruption(YAAC) ehich had alleged that Mr. Gakko is not fit and proper for the office of the Chief Registrar of the court.
In a statement signed by Ohazuruike Tochukwu, National Coordinator, CLF said the only reason for the formation of the group is to discredit the CR.
The young lawyers in their reaction accused YAAC of planning to Islamise the Judiciary in the country.
”It is obvious that the only reason for the formation of the group is to remove Mr. Emmanuel Gakko as the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court and not for lack of performance or merit but sheer reason of his religion and his ethnicity. Mr. Gakko is targeted because he is not a Muslim unlike the Chief Registrars of the other Federal Courts in the country.
”There has for some time been a surreptitious agenda to Islamize the judiciary and this agenda may have been inadvertently made clearer by the Chief Justice of Nigeria who made statements in the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, calling for the teaching of Sharia law in Arabic in all Nigerian Faculties of Law and also the call for Muslims to demand for increase in the number of justices with background in Sharia Law appointed to the Court of Appeal.
”The CJN also called for the development of Sharia Law in the States. This statement of the Hon Chief Justice is evidence that there is a strategic plan to promote Sharia across the judiciary and appoint people who will see to its seamless interpretation.
”For the first time in Nigeria’s democratic history, the Head of the three Arms of the government are all from the same region of the country and the same religion. Also both Chambers of the Parliament and the headship of the Court of Appeal are also all Muslims. These same forces operating through this non-existent group are the same forces that resisted the appointment and confirmation of Justice John Tsoho as the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court but failed. They shall also fail this time.
”These forces want to sacrifice merit on the altar of ethnicity and religion. The Chief Registrar has also done well in the prudent management of funds and of particular note is the fact that if there is any issue of corruption against the Chief Registrar, he would not have been cleared by the security agencies”.
THE SUN, NIGERIA