PROF. BEN ONYEUKWU (REV.)
NCE (English); Dip (Computer Studies);
ND/HD (Journalism); Dip, BA (Theology) MA, PhD.
CONSEQUENCES OF FALSE JUSTICE
MAIN
TEXT:
“You shall appoint judges and officers in
all your gates which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and
they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice;
you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe… You shall follow what is
altogether just…” (Deu. 16:18-20).
INTRODUCTION:
According to the BBC English
Dictionary, “justice is fairness in the way people are treated. It also refers
to the term as the legal system that a country uses in order to deal with
people who break the law”. The institution is equally the basic point of
redress for those who are denied justice. Thus, when anyone is fairly judged,
justice is said to be in place. But, when otherwise is the case, injustice
comes to focus. However, “false justice” is not just an injustice mated out
against someone, but the giving out of justice which favours someone to another
person(s) on the basis of gratification or inducement. In this case, person(s)
that is denied justice suffers injustice, whereas, the person(s) wrongly
favoured gets “false justice”. In furtherance, please notice that;
FALSE
JUSTICE ROBS ONE ONE’S RIGHT
The
essence of the institution of justice is to ensure that people’s rights are not
trampled upon. In fact, it is a divine measure to put the excesses of men in
check, (Deu. 16:18). People are the same from generation to generation. Some
are greedy and some are contented, some are strong and some are weak, some are
tough while some are easy going. These human dispositions and more account for
disputes and litigations in society. But, are the rights of the people
protected in our judiciary? The answer is No. Like in the time of Job, people
cry for justice, and none is given, (Job 19:7). Instead, the privileged ones
pay to obtain “false justice” at the expense of the rights of others. For
instance, it is the right of an orphan to possess his father’s property, yet,
many individuals bribe their way through to deny them of such rights. This
subjects the orphan to injustice, while the person(s) in question get(s) “false
justice”. On this note; God’s word counsels the judicial officers not to;
(i)
Pervert
justice or be partial in the dispensation of justice, (Deu. 16:19);
(ii)
Deny
justice to the poor in society, (Exodus 23:6).
(iii)
Take
bribes as a way of stopping the tide of “false justice, (Due. 16:19), etc.
FALSE
JUSTICE BREEDS INSINCERITY IN SOCIETY
False
Justice is a negative element of socialization. In human development, the older
individuals educate the younger ones. Certainly, the younger persons either
imitate bad or emulate good ways of life from the older ones, since they see them
as role models. Be also aware that false justice is an exhibition of falsehood
which showcases insincerity through judicial means and children are incited as
they see the elderly display this vice. Naturally, a child exposed to his or
her parent’s falsity is likely to take after them. This confirms the fact that
the younger generation assumes that insincerity is a way of life when they see;
(i)
legal
practitioners employ legal technicalities to kill evidences in court as a way of
securing false justice for politicians with false mandate, (Exo. 23:7)
(ii)
their
parents make false testimonies in court of what they know is untrue as a way of
securing false justice for their friends, (Exo. 20:18)
(iii)
judicial
officers are bribed to come up with false justice for someone they know a given
case did not favour, (Deu. 16 : 19). etc.
FALSE
JUSTICE ALSO ENCOURAGES INJUSTICE IN SOCIETY
As
noted somewhere in the discourse, one suffers injustice when one is denied
justice. And the person favoured with the justice denied one receives “false
justice”. This is a judicial robbery, and a technical way of robbing Peter to
favour Paul. No doubt, “false justice” is a strong sponsor of injustice in
society. When people know it is possible to bribe their ways through, during
litigations, they become encouraged to engage in acts of injustice. Based on
this, politicians rig elections to rob popular candidates of their mandates
with the belief that they can bribe their ways through, in courts. Communities
go for illegal boundary adjustments with the hope of obtaining “false justice”
through inducement. Wealthy individuals take undue advantage of what belong to
the poor on the grounds of the justice that money can buy. All these injustice
and more multiply in society because most judicial officers and legal
practitioners toe the path of bribery and corruption. But, the Bible charges everyone
to refrain from;
(i)
The
wickedness of taking bribes in secret as a way of perverting the course of
justice, (Prov. 17:23);
(ii)
Denying
justice to the poor people in their lawsuits, (Exodus 23:6);
(iii)
Withholding
justice from the alien (foreigner), the fatherless or the widow in order to
save themselves from the curses of the law, (Deu. 27:19), etc.
In
conclusion,
for any society to move on well, justice must prevail. This confirms the words
of Daniel Webster, which endorses that, “justice is the ligament which holds
civilized beings and civilized nations together”. By thus, the writer conveys
that to hold Nigeria (or any other country) together as nation, the people must
hold onto justice, and also stand against any form of its perversion. Also, the
words of Plato, an acclaimed philosopher in human history hopefully would serve
a great deal in cautioning the new generations against the consequences of
perverting justice in society. In this noble expression, he says, “he who
commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it”. Plato’s
thought as cited covers just an aspect of the perversion of justice. On “false
justice”, please note that, one who pays for justice pays for an endless
burden.
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