LAGOS—Senior lawyers and civil society groups in the country, yesterday, concurred with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, SAN, that the nation’s judiciary was deeply enmeshed in corruption but threw him the challenge of sanitising the system.
The CJN had, while being confirmed as substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria by the Senate on Wednesday, said the judiciary was corrupt and also said judicial officers accused of corruption should be given stiff penalties, same as other corrupt elements in the society. ‘’I always say Nigerian judiciary is part and parcel of Nigeria and I am not surprised seeing some judges being corrupt but must be treated same way other corrupt elements are treated,’’ the CJN had said.
Concurring with the CJN yesterday, Dr. olisa Agbakoba, SAN, said: ‘’The CJN should urgently announce measures to tackle judicial corruption, including implementation of Agbakoba vs AGF, declaring the financial autonomy of the judiciary and, therefore, Judges can be paid adequately without which the war on judicial corruption may likely fail.’’
on his part, Prof Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, said: ‘’The CJN spoke honestly when he admitted that there are corrupt judges on the bench. His duty and ours is to take all necessary actions to identify these corrupt judges and get them out of the Judiciary. ‘’We need to do this urgently. The CJN will give the nation additional hope and create trust for the Judiciary if we see the next appointment of judges based on criteria of honesty and transparency. That will reduce the possibilities of having corrupt persons slip into the Judiciary as judges and judicial staff.
‘’Our rule of law and democracy can only thrive if we have an independent and corrupt-free judiciary. We should all support the new Chief Justice of Nigeria to cleanse and reform the judiciary fundamentally and radically. “
In his reaction, Solomon Akuma, SAN, said: “It is a worrisome development that needs to be checked. It is hoped that the newly confirmed CJN will take the necessary steps to address it.
Speaking in a similar vein, Norrison Quakers, SAN:, said: ‘’A problem identified is half solved. It is a welcome development that the head of an arm of government has openly admitted that there are corrupt judges. The implication is that evidence subsists to substantiate the admission. Perhaps with this admission, the NJC will start the disciplinary proceedings.
‘’The house cleaning exercise will ultimately impact on the administration of justice and make it more effective and efficient. Encourage confidence in court users and investors.”
Similarly, John Odugbela, SAN, said in his reaction,: ‘’Well, I think that in itself is a challenge which he identified and recognized and it is now left for him to put his own policy in place to eradicate or reduce it to its minimum.
‘’For the country, it’s important for the citizenry to see the efforts he will begin to put in place to see his positive steps in curbing the menace, knowing full well that this arm of government is the last hope of the ordinary citizen or the common man.’’
Vanguard
