[A Rejoinder]: FIRST, LET’S GET SENIOR LAWYERS DISCIPLINED FOR AIDING AND JOINING IN THE ‘MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE’
By Sylvester Udemezue On 15 January 2024, I read with shock a news report under the headline, “Senior Lawyers Ask Nigeria’s Judicial Council To Discipline Appeal Court Justices Involved in ‘Miscarriage of Justice' - See: Arise; LawAndSociety). This raises instant questions: (a) Professional discipline against the justices for what professional misconduct specifically? (b) Is it a misconduct to deliver a judgement per in curriam? (c) Is it a misconduct to deliver a wrong judgement or for a judge to mis-interpret the law? (d) Even if a judgement of court is said or found to be “perverse”, how is it a professional misconduct on the part of the judge? In ATOLAGBE VS. SHORUN (1985) LPELR-592 (SC), Oputa, JSC, had this to say on what amounts to a perverse decision of Court: “Perverse simply means persistent in error, different from what is reasonable or required, against weight of evidence. A decision may be perverse where the trial Judge took into account, matters which he oug