Former President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa, has said she never favoured any party who appeared before her throughout her judicial career.
She said this while reacting to feedback from her husband’s statement, confessing that he used his position to gain some favour for his colleagues from his wife.
In his words, “I look at faces in this chamber who 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…,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an interview with BBC Hausa, Bulkachuwa said his words were misrepresented, adding that it was the former President of the Senate who interrupted him while he was explaining.
He said, “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 a 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 judgement in handling cases or running her office. Such matters are not even discussed in our home,”
However, on Sunday, Justice Bulkachuwa said she never compromised her oath of office in the judicial system.
“My attention has been drawn to the trending video of what was said by my husband Senator Adamu M. Bulkachuwa,” the statement reads.
“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,” she said.
She disclosed that her decisions were always based on the facts, the law and my conscience and oath of office.
“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,” she added.
Punch
