The valedictory session of the just-expired 9th Senate stood out for the several dramas that played out. A senator, Orji Kalu (APC, Abia), wept over what he saw as his maltreatment by the system. But what really ruffled feathers within and outside the “hallowed” Red Chamber was Senator Mohammed Bulkachuwa (APC, Bauchi’s) Freudian slip which is now haunting him and his family.

Bulkachuwa stood up, and despite out-gone Senate President, Ahmed Lawan’s frantic efforts to stop him from “going this way”, practically spilled the beans on how he influenced his wife, retired President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to pervert justice on be- half of his colleagues. The most interesting part of his submission was:

“…Particularly my wife, whose freedom and independence I encroached upon when she was in office, and she has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment and extended her help to my colleagues…”

Perhaps the ageing senator, overwhelmed by the solemnity of the occasion, felt the need to confess how magnanimous he had been to his fellow senators even to the point of adamantly refusing to be muzzled by the Senate President. It is rather comical that after the impact of his confession hit him and his family, he came back to claim he was “misquoted”.

The days of newsmakers unfairly accusing journalists of “misquoting” them are gone, what with the current stage of advancement in information, computer and communication technology. In Senator Bulkachuwa’s case, he was recorded on a video that went viral and is instantly available for anyone who cares to view it. His claim of being misquoted worsens the situation he put himself in.

Beyond the outrage that many Nigerians and concerned groups, particularly the National Judicial Council, NJC, and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, have been expressing, we call for an investigation into retired Justice Bulkachuwa’s tenure as a jurist and the President of the Court of Appeal.

We need to know the extent of the damage that might have been done and see how to restore justice to whom it might have been unjustly denied.

Since this scandal broke out, Nigerians have been debating whether the spouses of politically-exposed per- sons should be allowed to continue to serve on the Bench of our temples of justice. Some argue that it is practically impossible for such couples not to discuss political cases and try to take advantage of their positions of power in the judiciary.

We, however, believe the fundamental human rights of judges should not be curtailed because of the political careers of their spouses. But there should be checks and balances to ensure that judges do not pervert justice to gratify the interests of their spouses in politics.

This is the job of the NJC. Let the Council do its job, fully unravel the Bulkachuwa mess.