Eight days after her husband, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa said on the Senate floor that he used his position to ask favour for his colleagues from his wife, the immediate past President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, has come out swinging, defending her judicial integrity.
Bulkachuwa, Senator who represented Bauchi North in the 9th Assembly, had at the valedictory session of the Senate on June 10, 2023, said: “I look at faces in this chamber whom have come to me and sought for my help when my wife was the President of the Court of Appeal, and I’m sure…
“And I must thank particularly, my wife, whose freedom and independence I encroached upon while she was in office, and she has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment, and extended her help to my colleagues…”
Bulkachuwa’s comment had elicited outrage, with Olisa Agbakoba, former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), calling for the arrest of the former lawmaker.
But in a statement on Sunday, Justice Bulkachuwa said such insinuation was far from the truth.
Her statement reads: “My attention has been drawn to the trending video of what was said by my husband Senator Adamu M. Bulkachuwa. I want to state categorically that I never at any time compromised my oath of office to favour any party who appeared before me throughout my judicial career spanning 40 years of service to my country.
“My decisions were always based on the facts, the law and in accordance with my conscience and oath of office.
“Also, as President of the Court of Appeal, my fellow justices of the court can attest to the fact that I never interfered with the independence of any of the Justices of the court in the discharge of their judicial functions.”
Earlier, in an interview with BBC Hausa aired on Saturday, Bulkachuwa said his words were misrepresented, adding that the former President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, interrupted him while he was explaining.
“Well, I was not even allowed to finish, I just started with some words like thanking her, saying she was patient with me as she was legal practitioner and I am a politician.
“I wanted to elaborate on the specific nature of the help she provided, as there exists a wide range of support that professionals in various fields, such as legal practitioners, doctors, or engineers, can offer in their respective roles.
“Note that this assistance does not involve any illegal or unethical activities. In my personal relationship with her, I have never imposed upon her professional autonomy or attempted to influence her judgment in handling cases or running her office. Such matters are not even discussed in our home,” he had said.