The President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Monica Dongban-Memsem, has challenged those accusing judges of corruption to make their evidence public.
Dongban-Memsem spoke on Monday in Abuja at a special court session marking the official commencement of the Court of Appeal’s 2025/2026 legal year.
She expressed displeasure that people criticise the Judiciary when it receives support from the Executive arm of government, arguing that it was not out of place for the government to support the court and its officials to aid its effectiveness.
Dongban-Memsem said, “We keep hearing of corruption among judges. Please, provide evidence. That is what we need.
“Since no one has come up with evidence that we are corrupt, I know that we are not corrupt. We are doing our best.”
The PCA faulted the practice where lawyers encourage the writing of petitions against judicial officers because they feel dissatisfied with the judgment rendered by such judges.
She called for adequate and befitting accommodation for judges, citing the recent case of a retired judge of the Delta State Judiciary, who was murdered in her residence.
Justice Dongban-Memsem said that although the circumstances leading to the judge’s death were not yet fully known, it was obvious she lived in an environment that was not secure.
She said: “So, even after we have left office, we are still not safe, because of the decisions that we have taken.”
The Appeal Court president urged the federal and sub-national governments to extend the provision of houses to all judges rather than limiting it to heads of courts.
“Our sacrifice to the nation is invaluable. We don’t have alternative places to go. We do not pass files to other people. We sit down, we write our judgments, we read the files, and sometimes, they are very heavy.
“So, we do not even have time to do other businesses to enable us to provide for ourselves. People should please not begrudge us if we are being supported by the government that we are serving. And their support does not change us.
“We look at the facts, and we apply the law. If we fail to do that, there are three levels of appeal. Judges can be wrong. But we do not choose to be wrong.
“We may misinterpret the facts. If you think we do it deliberately, bring up the facts. Go on an appeal. Judges should not be weighed down with answering petitions.
“Appeal when you can appeal. A judicial decision is supposed to be appealed against, not to be petitioned against,” she said.
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