Abba Aji Clarifies US Travel Ban On Supreme Court Justices

Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji, who retired as a justice of the Supreme Court, has said the travel ban imposed on a seven member panel of the apex court by the United States was occasioned by misinterpretation of a judgment delivered by the justices.

The retired Justice said the travel ban to the United States was still subsisting against the justices.

Justice Abba Aji who spoke on the occasion of a valedictory Supreme Court session held in her honour, however, noted that the ban was part of inconveniences and a small price to pay by judicial officers to preserve the chastity of justice.

Abba Aji is to formally bow out of the Supreme Court on November 7 upon attainment of the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.

Recalling her experience while on the bench, she said, “My time on the Supreme Court bench was filled with challenges, some of which have served as additional opportunities to stand firm on the side of justice, regardless of the consequences.

“One of such challenging judgments was widely misinterpreted and led to a travel ban to the United States of America being imposed on all members of the panel, a ban which still holds today.”

Although, Justice Abba Aji did not disclose the judgment that attracted the US travel ban on her panel members, she however said, “Such inconveniences were a price to pay to preserve the chastity of justice”.

Justice Abba Aji also recalled the year 2016 while on a programme at Washington DC in the USA, she received a call that her attention was needed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a petition against her in Lagos.

She explained that the petition made her a regular visitor at the EFCC office answering questions on allegations of corruption she knew nothing about adding that, at the end of the investigations, she was exonerated from all the allegations.

Despite the exoneration, she said the situation was chaotic and made a very difficult time for her as slanders had filled the air, adding that to worsen the situation, she could not speak in her own defense in public because of the conservative nature of the judiciary.

The retiring apex court justice, charged younger generation of judges to hold fast to integrity and let justice be their compass.

She counseled serving judges to serve with humility and courage and to always remember that the law is not merely a profession but a trust.

Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who presided over the special court session congratulated Justice Abba Aji for diligent service to the country’s judiciary and for leaving the Supreme Court bench with unblemished record of service.

The CJN said the career of Justice Abba Aji in the judiciary and the legal profession was so important to the nation and women who had followed her example on the bench.