Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour was the second most senior Supreme Court Justice before retiring in 2021 at the age of 70. He speaks to
OLADIMEJI RAMON about his career, family and life after the bench
You were born in Lagos in 1951. What were the highlights of your childhood as someone born on Lagos Island in pre-independence era?
In pre-independence era, Lagos was a colony, while the Western Region – the six South-West states – ended at the present-day Fadeyi on Ikorodu Road; Ikeja was Western Region. The home of Rhodes was No. 38 Igbosere Road, Lagos. That is where the City Hall stands today.
I would say that I spent most of my childhood in Ikeja and other towns in the Western Region such as Ibadan, Akure. This was due to the fact that my father was transferred to most towns in the Western Region. Warri, Sapele were in the Western Region and became part of the Midwest Region in 1963. Coming to Lagos Island was frequent. There were no armed robbers then. It was common to sleep with the doors of your house ajar. The streets and drains were clean. On Sundays, after church and lunch, we were off to the horse races at the race course, the present-day Tafawa Balewa Square. Lagos was not as populated as it is today. People knew each other and they looked out for each other.
What were your parents’ occupations and in what kind of family setting did you grow up?
My father was a lawyer who later became a judge. On the creation of the Midwest in 1963, my father was a Chief Magistrate in Ibadan. He was invited by the Premier of the Midwest Region, Chief Dennis Osadebay, to be a judge. He accepted and was sworn in as a judge in that region in 1964. My mother studied Nursing in England, but was a housewife. I grew up in a monogamous home.
Your first name, Bode, suggests you are a Yoruba man but your surname is English. What is the story behind it?
I understand you to be saying that my surname is not indigenous to any tribe in Nigeria. The name Nigeria is also not indigenous to any tribe in the country. Almost all the people in Nigeria with foreign names also have indigenous names. What is the case is that in colonial times, some people with foreign names held onto their foreign names while others reverted to their indigenous names. There are hundreds of thousands of Nigerians similar to me.
As a professional, you have had the rare privilege of reaching the summit of your profession before retiring in 2021. What kind of impact did your family background have on you and what you grew up to become in later years?
I grew up in a strict legal home where there was a lot of discipline. My father was a judge, as I said earlier, and I always wanted to be one. So, before and after I read Law, I knew what was expected of a lawyer and a judge. I would say without any reservations that my family background had a positive impact on what I grew up to become.
The life of a judge is viewed as a life of discipline and self-restraint. How did you cope with that over the 27 years that you were on the bench from high court to Supreme Court?
I had no difficulty living a life of discipline and self-restraint. I was used to that type of life from a very early age. Such a life came to me naturally.
Did your status as a judge demand any kind of adjustment, for instance socially, from your family members?
As a judge, you have to ensure that you are always well dressed and groomed at all times, being God’s representative responsible for resolving earthly disputes. Judges are to cut down drastically on the type of friends they keep and attending parties. If they do attend parties, they should never be seen eating and drinking in an open area or dancing and spraying (money). Furthermore, judges are to be seen but rarely heard. My status did not demand any kind of adjustment, particularly socially, from (my) family members. This is so as my immediate and larger families are all lawyers. My sister and brother are lawyers and my wife is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. They know what is expected of a judge.
Is being married to a lawyer a deliberate choice you made or you just happened to find love within your profession?
When I married my wife, I was about nine years at the Bar while she was about three years at the Bar. She was, obviously, not a SAN then. It follows that I just happened to find love within the profession.
Did marrying a lawyer have any impact on your career and the kind of family you have raised?
Indeed, I come from a legal family whilst I also married a lawyer. I come from a generation of lawyers. My great uncle, Justice Steven Bankole Rhodes, was the second Nigerian judge. He was appointed a judge in 1945. My father was called to the Bar in 1946 and became a judge in 1964. Several of my uncles, such as Chief Yinka Rhodes and others, were lawyers. Even my in-laws are lawyers. My father-in-law and my wife are lawyers. Being married to a lawyer had a positive impact in that she (my wife) understands the culture and tradition of the profession while we also have stimulating intellectual discussions.
What moment stands out for you in your years on the bench?
I would say being sworn in as a Supreme Court judge and retiring in good health with an unblemished record.
Was it easy for you transiting into retirement having been used to heavy workload as a Supreme Court Justice?
There are several seminars in a number of countries that prepare judges for retirement. I attended a few of them. I also lived in a home where I saw a high court judge – my father – transiting into retirement. So, I found it easy transiting into retirement.
How does it feel being 70 years old and what are you doing in retirement?
I feel alright at 70 years, but I notice at this age, ailments come ex parte and not on notice as in my younger days. In retirement, I am a member of the Nigerian Judicial Council and Chairman of the Body of Benchers. I also do a bit of consultancy work.
Do you think the services of judicial officers to the nation are appreciated enough by Nigerians?
Strong judiciaries are not developed nor are required reforms carried out by pulling down the judiciary. I would recall the wide-ranging reforms carried out in Lagos State premised on the Lord Woolf’s Reforms in England. This was the initiative of the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, the then Attorney General of Lagos State. Throughout the process while working with the judiciary and other stakeholders, he was courteous and never used any disparaging language against the judiciary. He still continues to advocate reform in the same manner. There are other senior lawyers who can be emulated in this regard. Lawyers like Chief ‘Folake Solanke, first lady Silk; Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN; Professor (Fabian) Ajogwu SAN; OCJ Okocha, SAN; and even the late Bankole Aluko, SAN. These are lawyers who understand that you do not build up by pulling down.
I appreciate that reform is crucial and necessary, but let all stakeholders work together in a respectful and courteous manner so as to respect the sanctity of the judiciary and stop bringing the Nigerian judiciary into disrepute in the domestic and international arena. People who are not lawyers can never appreciate the services of judicial officers when criticisms of judicial officers continue from within in a disparaging manner by those who ought to know better.
Prior to becoming a judge in 1994, you were a lawyer in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and you became the Director of Public Prosecutions at a time. If you have to compare, which do you enjoy more between your time as a lawyer and on the bench?
I would say I consider my time on the bench more fulfilling. As a judge, you have the opportunity to develop the law for the good of the country.
You became a judge during military era. Is there a difference between the atmosphere under which judges operated in military regime and now under the civilian regime?
There is no difference between the atmosphere under which judges operate in military regime and civilian regime.
Did you ever face any work-related danger or threat as a judge?
I am not aware of any work-related danger and I have never been threatened as a judge.
The Igbosere courthouse in Lagos where you once sat as a high court judge was recently demolished after it was set on fire in 2020 by hoodlums. What are your thoughts on these events in view of the historical significance of that courthouse?
You are quite right about the historical significance of that court. It is the oldest courthouse in Nigeria. It is indeed a historical building, a national heritage. On April 15, 2019, the Notre-Dame de Paris was badly damaged by fire. The French president vowed to restore the building and that restoration is yet to be completed. Such buildings should be preserved and everything imaginable must be done to restore such buildings. Demolition of the Igbosere courthouse would only be justified if restoration is impossible.
Your work as a judicial officer must have taken you to different places across the country. What do you think of the country against the backdrop of secession agitations from some quarters?
I have sat as a judge in most of the states in Nigeria. Secession agitation usually results when aggrieved parties do not talk. Anyone who has been to most places in Nigeria, like me, would see that Nigeria has enormous potential. It is just a question of time.
Is there a place for the consideration of what would best serve public interest in the decisions of the Supreme Court? I ask because there have been many cases where Nigerians have been disappointed when the Supreme Court seemed to make unpopular decisions. An example is the decision nullifying the ACJA provision permitting a high court judge elevated to the Court of Appeal to conclude part-heard cases notwithstanding the elevation. That provision was meant to solve an obvious problem of delayed justice but the Supreme Court threw it away.
In the hierarchy of laws in Nigeria or where any democracy is practised, the constitution comes first. It is the grund norm. It is the supreme law to which other laws must adhere. Any law in conflict with the constitution would be declared null and void and thrown away. The constitution provides for courts. Section 6(i) of the constitution states that: “The judicial power of the federation shall be vested in the Courts to which this section relates, being Courts established for the federation.” There is a hierarchy of courts in Nigeria – the magistrates’ court, high court, Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court. Once a magistrate is appointed a high court judge and he is sworn in as a high court judge, he can no longer function as a magistrate. So, it is with an appointment to the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court. Once appointed to the higher court, a judge can no longer serve as a judge in the lower court. This issue has been laid to rest by several decisions of the courts. The provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act permitting a high court judge elevated to the Court of Appeal to conclude a part-heard case, notwithstanding the elevation, is clearly contrary to the spirit of the constitution and several decided authorities.
Public interest is all about the general welfare of the public that warrants recognition and protection. There is a place and (it) has always been one for the consideration of what would best serve public interest in decisions of the Supreme Court. On the state of the law, criminal trials cannot be heard speedily in view of all that I have been saying about ACJA provisions. It would appear that there is no consideration of what would best serve public interest in that decision of the Supreme Court. Public interest would be best served if the constitution is amended to make the ACJA provision legal or judges with part-heard criminal matters are sworn in as judges of a higher court only after they conclude their part-heard cases.
I have also heard lawyers, even very senior ones, complain that decisions of Supreme Court are sometimes heavy on ‘technicality’ rather than substance of the case, and this is of major concern because the decisions of the Supreme Court are final. Do you think this complaint is valid?
A case in point in which there was much talk about the case being decided on technicality and not substance is Adeleke v Oyetola 2020 SC. The facts and circumstances of a case should be thoroughly examined before anything meaningful can be said. In the last gubernatorial election in Osun State, INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) declared Oyetola the winner. Adeleke filed a petition before the tribunal and won. Oyetola appealed to the Court of Appeal and won. The judgment of the Court of Appeal was affirmed by the Supreme Court. Now, during trial at the tribunal, one of the judges on the panel was absent on a day that two witnesses for Oyetola gave evidence. This same judge, who was absent, wrote the leading judgment. The issue was “whether a judge who did not sit when two witnesses gave evidence can come back and write the leading judgment?” The law reports are replete with authorities that establish the well-settled position of the law where there are irregularities in the composition of the tribunal; the final decision must be declared a nullity. What should have been done? The judge that did not sit, on his return, ought to have called back the two witnesses to hear their evidence. If this was not done, the counsel on the other side would complain of denial of fair hearing and that was precisely what happened. Why did the tribunal not invite both witnesses to return to court to give evidence? By virtue of Section 285(vi) of the Constitution, the tribunal shall deliver its judgment within 180 days from the filing of the petition. A judgment delivered on the 181st day is a nullity. The tribunal could not invite the witnesses back to court because they were out of time. This is a similar situation in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, which both have 60 days to deliver their judgments. At the time the appeal was before those courts there was little or no time left. That is why in such cases the Supreme Court delivers judgment and gives reasons for the judgment after 60 days. How, may I ask, can the court be said to have relied on technicality when the constitution did not envisage a situation such as this? Technicality should always be jettisoned, and judges strive to deliver judgments that reflect the justice of the case. The complaint is definitely not valid.
You have an admirable sense of style. What is the overriding idea behind your fashion sense?
I try to be comfortable and well turned out at all times.
Do you like any sports?
Athletics, football and cricket. I also enjoy watching Formula 1.
What kind of music do you enjoy?
The genres of music I enjoy are juju, afro beats, soul, highlife, calypso and gospel.
Are there personal goals ahead that you look forward to attaining?
Since retirement, I have been spending more time with my family. My only goal is to continue living a life of grace and making heaven when the times comes.
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