President Muhammadu Buhari |
The president’s complaints
range from ‘allegations of judicial corruption’, ‘dilatory tactics by lawyers
sometimes with the apparent collusion of judges… to stall trials indefinitely
[and] denying the state and the accused persons of a judicial verdict’, to a
‘negative perception arising from long delays in the trial process… that have
damaged the international reputation of the Nigerian judiciary, even among its
international peers.’
At a different forum early
May, then Vice-President-elect Yemi
Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate and professor of law, had noted that the
nation’s criminal justice system ‘is slow and it almost always ensures that
people charged …[are] not tried forever…’
Even as the judiciary
remains the hope of the common man, the observations on it are far from
fabricated. Indeed, in June, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud
Mohammed, obviously aware of negative public perception of the institution he
heads, said on the occasion of the induction of new judicial officers that ‘the
Nigerian judiciary is now more prepared and more poised than ever to rid itself
of all the ugly dirt inflicted on her by unscrupulous, fraudulent and corrupt
persons occupying judicial positions in Nigeria.’ To achieve this, he cited the
Code of Conduct that is in place to guide judicial officers, and the national
and state judicial councils that are ‘adequately empowered’ to deal with
misconduct.
President Buhari’s latest
admonition has, however, raised the question as to whether the CJN’s strategy
is working effectively. It does seem that the judiciary can do with more than
the routine counseling it has been receiving, from within and outside, to
redress these professional shortcomings.
It is true that factors
that hamper its capacity to dispense justice as and when due are, too often,
well-known. It is difficult nonetheless to not hold that judges can and should
be more assertive, more courageous, demonstrably impartial, and much more
efficient in doing their work. For, according to former Chief Justice of
Nigeria (CJN) Mariam Alooma Mukhtar
in 2012, ‘[except laws are administered] fairly, rationally, consistently,
impartially, and devoid of any improper influences, a society cannot operate
under the rule of law.’ It is no exaggeration then that if the judiciary fails,
hope is lost for the survival of a democratic system of government that by
definition is based on the rule of law.
The attendant damage to the
nation is too grave to contemplate. Indeed, this is the reason that, when all
efforts to resolve a dispute in the polity have been exhausted, the judiciary
has the final – some would say oracular – word as pronounced by ‘an independent
and virtuous judiciary.’ In this connection, it is worthy to recall the late
Justice Anthony Aniagolu’s counsel to members of the Bench to dispense justice
with courage and integrity because ‘you …most directly represent God on earth
because God is justice and so, by delivering justice on the people, you are
sitting on [God’s] throne.’ In January 2012, the then CJN, Justice Dahiru
Musdapher begged members of the Bench ‘in the name of justice [to decide cases]
on their merits and not on technicalities.’
The judiciary needs to rise
to the level of excellence expected of persons who ‘represent God on earth.’ A
number of judges have been sacked, some reprimanded, for either professional
failing or integrity failure. Ultimately, the choice and burden of
self-redemption lies heavily on members of the Bench. The CJN reportedly blamed
the low performance of the judiciary on underfunding. That can only be a
partial reason; the integrity of a judicial officer is essentially a function
of his good or bad character. So, there is an abiding responsibility of every
judge to commit to personal incorruptibility and to do justice no matter whose
ox is gored. On the other hand, the CJN must walk his talk and enforce the
rules as need be, without fear or favour.
Buhari recommends a reform
of the judicial system; that is required almost on a continuous basis. On the
other hand, a president that genuinely desires a clean and respectable
judiciary must address those factors that hinder it and encourage crooked acts
on the Bench. The first of these is paucity of fund and the glaring violation
of the constitutional provision of financial autonomy of the judiciary.
Besides, instead of the
executive arm of government impugning publicly, the integrity of another arm,
there should be internal collaboration between them to facilitate the workings
of government. In the name of independence of each, and respect for one another,
the president can bring to the attention of the CJN his complaints against the
system. And if there is enough evidence against an erring judicial officer, the
executive has the resources to bring her to book within the ambit of the law.
Otherwise, Buhari’s public umbrage against the judiciary might be read as an
attempt to intimidate a vital arm of government.
Nevertheless, as rightly
put by the administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Roseline Bozimo (rtd) ‘this
country and its citizens expect a diligent and effective administration of
justice from the Nigerian judiciary [and it] cannot afford to fail them.’
Clearly this is a job for not only the men and women on the Bench alone but
everyone in the polity, including litigants and their lawyers. (Guardian)
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