‘It’s Beyond A Scandal’ – Odinkalu Reacts To Bulkachuwa’s Confession

Following his alleged confession about how he influenced the decision of his wife, Justice Zainab, while she was serving as a President of the Court of Appeal, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa has come under fire from various quarters.

Naija News reports that the latest on the list of Bulkachuwa’s critics over his confession is the human rights activist and lawyer, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, who said if the senator’s confessions are really true, then the issue is beyond a scandal.

According to him, even though the senator has come under a lot of criticism, the question to be asked is what really transpired and its magnitude.

It would be recalled that Bulkachuwa, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had during the valedictory session of the 9th Senate on 10 June, confessed to infringing on the “freedom and independence” of his wife as a judicial officer.

The senator has since come under heavy attacks as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called for a probe and possible prosecution of the lawmaker who represented Bauchi North senatorial district in the 9th Senate.

Reacting to the alleged confession, Odinkalu, who was featured on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said “A lot of reactions have been raised obviously about what he said on the floor of the Senate but the real issue is what actually transpired.

“If what he said actually did happen, it is beyond a scandal. The National Judicial Council met yesterday and somehow managed to wimp out on that particular episode, managing to say nothing about it.”

Also, the human rights lawyer as well reacted to the statement of the NBA president, Yakubu Maikyau, who had in a statement on Wednesday said the confession ”came with a huge negative impact on the integrity and the independence of the Judiciary can only be an understatement.”

While also reacting to the NBA President’s statement, Odinkalu said NBA chairman’s response was scandalous, arguing that he does not have the capacity to speak on behalf of the NJC.

He advanced that “The President of the Nigerian Bar Association then issued this scandalous statement in my view, in which he purported to speak on behalf of the National Judicial Council which he does not have to do not being the presiding officer nor the spokesperson.

“He is giving us a reported speech claiming that the National Judicial Council condemned what Senator Bulkachuwa did. But it is not clear what Senator Bulkachuwa did, what they are condemning.”