This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001233 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2014 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PHUM NI DOMESTICPOLITICS
SUBJECT: CHIEF JUSTICE UNDER ATTACK 
 
REF: A. LAGOS 637 AND PREVIOUS 
     ¶B. ABUJA 725 
     ¶C. ABUJA 1190 AND PREVIOUS 
     ¶D. ABUJA 581 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN CAMPBELL.  REASONS 1.5 (B & D). 
 
¶1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Nigeria's Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court Muhammadu Uwais met with Ambassador last week at his 
residence.  Uwais laid out a story of interference in the 
judiciary and attempted manipulation and intimidation by the 
Presidency.  He claimed that accusations that he accepted 
bribes in an earlier case had been followed by attempts to 
deposit large sums of money into his bank account to 
implicate him.  "I have not asked Obasanjo for anything and 
he feels that I cannot be controlled like others," Uwais 
said.  He commented that he wanted to relate the story to the 
Ambassador so that "someone knows what is happening here" in 
case "something happens" to him.  After the meeting at the 
Ambassador's residence, an invitee who came with the Chief 
Justice was contacted by State Security Services (SSS) and 
queried about the meeting.  The judiciary at the Federal 
level remains relatively free from corruption and the Chief 
Justice has shown his concern over the past few years with 
restoring its image.  At the state and local level, the 
judiciary is of varied quality, with many judges in place 
through political manipulation and subject to bribery and 
coersion.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (C)  Nigeria's Chief Justice (CJ) of the Supreme Court 
Muhammadu Uwais met with Ambassador last week at his 
residence.  The meeting, while part of the Ambassador's 
scheduled round of introductory visits, was initiated by 
Uwais.  Uwais brought a relative to the meeting and 
Ambassador was accompanied by A/PolCouns.  Uwais appeared 
relaxed and seemed to relish the exchange of pleasantries 
preceding lunch.  At the table, however, he laid out a story 
of interference in the judiciary and attempted manipulation 
and intimidation by the Presidency. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Uwais said that he and other Supreme Court justices 
were experiencing "pressure and harassment" from President 
Obasanjo due to Presidency concerns that the court may not 
"do his bidding."  The story begins with the tale of Delta 
Governor James Ibori and his alleged conviction for stealing 
roofing materials and Uwais spoke in great detail about the 
case.  According to Uwais, a group of ruling PDP members 
decided they did not want Ibori to contest the governorship 
of Delta for a second term in 2003, but were unable to 
manipulate the nominating process in Delta state against him. 
 Failing that, two PDP "members" filed a suit alleging that 
Ibori had been convicted in a court in the Federal Capital 
Territory (FCT) in the mid-1990's and was therefore 
ineligible to run for office.  This case was not resolved 
before the 2003 elections and, along with an election 
tribunal case against Ibori, elements of it linger on without 
resolution (REF A).  Uwais said that Ibori personally visited 
him to alert him of the attempt to bar him from office and 
asked for the Chief Justice's assistance and gave Uwais a 
copy of a letter Ibori planned to deliver to Obasanjo. 
 
¶4.  (C)  After the Ibori visit, Uwais instituted an 
investigation of the matter at the Bwari district court in 
the FCT.  Two of the three judges serving on the panel 
recalled the case and confirmed that, in fact, Ibori had been 
convicted in the theft.  (NOTE:  Uwais said the third judge's 
whereabouts were unknown as he had retired.  END NOTE.) 
Later, Obasanjo directed the FCT police to investigate the 
case.  The police came to the opposite conclusion, that no 
case had been entered against Ibori and that the court clerks 
had been paid to falsify the records. 
 
¶5.  (C)  While these investigations were continuing, a 
previously unknown group calling itself the "Derivation 
Front" alleged that Uwais and other judges had been bribed. 
When the justices reported the matter to the police, an 
"investigation" was launched.  The police, using the INTERPOL 
unit within the force, concluded that nothing could be done 
about the allegations because the address and phone number on 
the letter were false (REF B).  When Uwais pointed out that 
there were other names, including the signatories to the 
letter and an attorney representing the group, the police 
dragged their feet and made no efforts to investigate further 
without prodding from the Court.  Uwais says that it is 
obvious that Obasanjo is behind the efforts to have Governor 
Ibori removed because the President's "crony and attorney" 
Afe Babalola is leading the case against the governor and 
speculated that elements "in the Presidency" were behind the 
Derivation Front as well.  Uwais, ignoring the allegations, 
chose to sit on the panel that heard the appeal to the 
Supreme Court and deal with the allegations directly.  When 
he opened the hearing of the case, Uwais announced that the 
allegations were untrue and the organization making them was 
a front group sponsored to attack the integrity of the court. 
 
¶6.  (C)  In a new development, Uwais claimed that this 
earlier case had been followed by attempts to deposit large 
sums of money into his bank account to implicate him.  Uwais 
claimed his daughter had received a call from a friend, an 
attorney named Lanre Williams.  Williams then called Uwais 
and explained that the SSS had been tasked with finding the 
CJ's vulnerabilities, including bank account numbers and 
properties with an eye to tarnishing his image.  Williams 
claimed that a friend of his in the SSS had asked Williams to 
alert the CJ because he "respects the CJ and doesn't agree 
with his orders."  Uwais says that he consulted with the 
other justices and the group decided not to approach the 
police "as they work for the President and are incompetent." 
 
¶7.  (C)  Asked for a reason for the interference, Uwais 
posited, "I have not asked Obasanjo for anything and he feels 
that I cannot be controlled like some others."  He claimed 
that Obasanjo is nervous about the Supreme Court because of 
the Presidential Election Tribunal, which will end up in the 
Supreme Court regardless of its outcome at the Federal Court 
of Appeals (REF C).  Uwais said a friend reported that 
Obasanjo had told a group of his supporters during a strategy 
meeting that "that man (Uwais) can not be dealt with."  Uwais 
speculated that if the pressure was coming from the 
Presidency, Obasanjo "must be behind it" as nothing happens 
without his knowledge. 
 
¶8.  (C)  Uwais said that he approached the Embassy to relate 
the story to the Ambassador so that "someone knows what is 
happening here" in case "something happens" to him (REF D). 
He claimed that he was committed to improving the reputation 
of the judiciary and beginning the task of cleaning up the 
dishonest judges throughout all levels of the system.  He 
asserted that, given his age and position, he wanted nothing 
more than a "good reputation." 
 
¶9.  (C)  NOTE:  After the meeting at the Ambassador's 
residence, the other guest was contacted by State Security 
Services (SSS) and queried about the meeting.  END NOTE. 
 
¶10.  (C)  COMMENT:  The judiciary at the Federal level 
remains relatively free from corruption and the Chief Justice 
is not known to be corrupt.  He has shown his concern over 
the past few years with restoring the image of the judiciary 
and has been known to stand up to efforts at controlling the 
courts.  The justices are appointed by the President and 
serve for life unless removed by a judicial council, a 
complicated process involving dozens of judges and attorneys. 
 At the state and local level, judges serve at the whim of 
the sitting governors, and they are of varied quality.  Many 
were appointed as political favors, and most are subject to 
bribery and and the threat of capricious removal.  While the 
reputation of the Federal Courts has improved in the past few 
years, much of the public remains skeptical.  Without public 
support and freedom from political intimidation, the courts' 
efforts to instill rule-of-law, a necessity for Nigeria's 
struggling democracy, will be limited. 
CAMPBELL