•Says judgment was misinterpreted by America
A retiring Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji, said on Friday that a United States travel ban imposed on a seven-member panel of the apex court remained in force.
She attributed the ban to what she described as the misinterpretation of a judgment delivered by the panel. She, however, did not mention the particular contentious case.
Speaking at a valedictory court session held in her honour in Abuja on Friday, Abba Aji described such inconveniences as a price judicial officers sometimes paid to preserve the integrity of justice.
She will formally retire from the Supreme Court today upon attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Recalling her experience on the bench, she said: “My time on the Supreme Court Bench was filled with challenges, some of which have served as additional opportunities to stand firm on the side of justice, regardless of the consequences.
“One of such challenging judgments was widely misinterpreted and led to a travel ban to the United States of America being imposed on all the members of the panel, a ban which still stands till today.”
Abba Aji also recalled that while attending a programme in Washington, DC, in 2016, she received a call informing her that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) wanted her to respond to a petition filed against her in Lagos.
She said the petition led to repeated visits to the EFCC’s office, where she answered questions about corruption allegations she knew nothing about. According to her, she was eventually cleared of all the allegations.
Despite her exoneration, she described the period as difficult, saying allegations circulated publicly while the conservative nature of the judiciary prevented her from responding in public.
Although she did not identify the judgment that allegedly prompted the US travel ban, she said: “Such inconveniences were a price to pay to preserve the chastity of justice.”
The retiring justice urged younger judges to uphold integrity and let justice be their compass.
She advised serving judges to discharge their duties with humility and courage, remembering that the law was not merely a profession but a trust.
Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who presided over the session, congratulated Abba Aji on her diligent service and what she described as an unblemished record.
The CJN said Abba Aji’s career was significant to the nation and to women who had followed her example on the bench.
Also speaking, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, commended Abba Aji for her contribution to a judgment concerning the legal foundations of the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), which he said had helped the government combat corruption.
[NIGERIAN TRIBUNE]
