A former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa (rtd), has said that she did justice to all parties without fear or favour throughout her career as a Judicial Officer.
Justice Bulkachuwa spoke to counter a statement made by her husband on the floor of the 9th Senate during its valedictory session penultimate weekend, where he alluded that he used his marital position to gain some judicial favour for his Senator-colleagues when his wife was the President of the Appeal Court.
According to her in statement, “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.”
She disclosed that her decisions were always based on the facts, the law and her 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
Recall that Justice Bulkachuwa’s husband, Senator Bulkachuwa had said during the 9th Senate valedictory session that, “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…”
Meanwhile, in an interview with BBC Hausa Service, Senator Bulkachuwa said his words were misrepresented, adding that it was the former President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who interrupted him while he was speaking at the said Senate session.
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.
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.”
