Kurmi Community Fume Over Senate Clearance Of Galumje As Supreme Court Justice

MICHAEL AKINOLA

The entire people of Kurmi in Kurmi Local Govt Area of Taraba State have expressed shock and utter dismay over the clearance of Justice Adamu Paul Galumje of the Appeal Court, Sokoto Division as one of the new justices promoted to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The community was shocked that despite their protests and petitions to the Senate President, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters, National Judicial Council, NJC, Department of State Security, DSS and other agencies of government, Galumje as the Supreme Court Justice nominee was cleared.

The spokesperson of the community, Ibrahim Ishaya Etsu and John Tobi Yarafab said they were utterly surprised that an individual with questionable character and who lack integrity has been cleared to administer justice at the highest level.

“What’s the hope for the common man with an individual who believes only in justice for the highest bidder? The effort by the present administration to sanitise the judiciary will amount to exercise in futility with the likes of Justice Paul Adamu Galumje still on the bench,” Ishaya Etsu said.

In a petition dated 17 October, 2016 to the Director-General, Department of State Service by the Ishaya Etsu/Tobi Yarafa Chieftaincy Family, and made available to P.M.EXPRESS, Galumje was accused of abusing his office and allegedly offered bribe to the former acting governor of the state and a sitting senator, Alhaji Sani Danladi to issue recognition certificate to someone not entitled to be king of the community.

“…Since May 2016, we wrote a petition to the National Judicial Council complaining about Justice Adamu Paul Galumje using his position as a judge of Appeal Court, Sokoto Division to pervert justice by manipulating the court process.

“He also manipulated judgement to his favour in a matter we filed against him in matter where he manipulated his way to be the chairman of the Kingmakers where in a fact he is not a member of the Royal family in Kurmi Chiefdom…” stated the petition signed by Messrs Ibrahahim Ishaya Etsu and John Tobi Yarafab.

The petitioners also alleged that Justice Galumje induced the former acting governor with the sum of N50 million to get his approval of his choice in the chieftaincy tussle.

The Judge has also been accused of writing series of letters on his letterhead to the former Acting Governor Abubakar Sani now a senator on this same matter.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on 6 October nominated Justice Galumje and one other judge as Justices of the Supreme Court. The president has asked the Senate to consider and confirm their nomination.

But the petitioners stated that “based on Justice Galumje’s antecedents in perverting the course of justice, he is not a proper person for such position.”

They also alleged that the National Judicial Council has been compromised, while the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who also is from Taraba State, cannot claim not be aware of the controversial nature of Justice Galumje.

The community alleged that before now, Justice Galumje had boasted openly that he knows his way around the NJC and can sort out the Senate committee members and get cleared.

They expressed disappointment in the Senate Committee on Judiciary who treated their petitions with levity by not bothering to invite them to shed more light on the allegations against Justice Galumje before clearing him to be promoted to the Apex court in the country.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the once peaceful Kurmi community was almost burnt down following the imposition of a king by the kingmakers led by Justice Galumje.

Efforts to reach Justice Galumje proved futile at the time of filing this report.