NBA acknowledges Nigerians rubbish judiciary for miscarriage of justice
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Lawyers have acknowledged Nigerians have lost confidence in both the Bench and the Bar with judges failing to uphold justice and lawyers pursuing money by all means to bribe judges and erode the fundamentals of justice and fairness.
The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) made the point at its conference in Lagos and demanded a holistic reform of the judiciary to ensure severe sanctions for corrupt judges and lawyers who corrupt the system.
It said this will help restore confidence in the judiciary, which is supposed to be the last hope of the common man.
Former NBA President Olumide Akpata reiterated in a panel session the general perception of citizens keenly watching the actions judicial officers – including lawyers – is that the judiciary is deeply corrupt.
Akpata cited the recent disclosure by Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa in the Senate of how his wife, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, helped sway justice for his colleagues, and disclosure by former Senate President Ahmad Lawan of how the court assisted his return to the Senate, saying such revelations have given the judiciary a bad reputation.
He insisted both lawyers and judges are complicit in the matter, and advocated for urgent drastic reform of the judiciary, including the process of appointing judges, remuneration, and sanctions to sanitise the courts.
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Judicial reform to come from the outside
Akpata said because Nigerians are aware of the corruption in the judiciary, they are fast exploring alternative avenues of settling their disputes since they have completely lost confidence in the system, via reporting by Vanguard.
“Reform of the judiciary cannot take place on the inside. We need reforms but I don’t think the judiciary as it stands now can pivot that reform. I believe it has to come from outside,” he stressed.
YIAGA Africa Executive Director Samson Itodo also reiterated Nigerians have lost confidence in the judiciary and the evidence is clear with their disposition to the pronouncement by the courts – and “if we don’t as a sector address it squarely, then the legitimacy that we seem to have, we will lose it with time.”
He added: “People have lost confidence in the judiciary but we must help to salvage that lost confidence. Lawyers need to call out judges who are corrupting the system.
“There also need to be an effective sanction system for lawyers who corrupt the system. Citizens also need to rise up to the occasion and call out judges and lawyers who are corrupting the judiciary.”
Ekine Stronghold, Exalt Nigeria National Coordinator, cited the case of Imo which he said is currently in a state of chaos because of perceived injustice foisted on it by the judiciary.
He warned Nigeria cannot afford to have the Imo scenario on a national scale and sought an all-encompassing reform. “The onus is on us lawyers to save this country from anarchy and we must not fail in this duty,” he counselled.
Aderemi Oguntoye said judges and lawyers are on trial and must find a way to heal themselves to salvage the bad reputation the public has about them.
“People are looking for alternative ways to settle their disputes because they no longer have confidence in the judiciary. This is a bad trend that must stop.
“Beyond the need to examine the actions of judges and lawyers, there is also the need to encourage those that are doing well. There is also the need to fully embrace technology and fix a stiff sanction for electoral offenders,” he insisted.
NBA-SPIDEL Chairman Monday Ubani implored the judiciary to rise to the occasion to restore confidence in the system.
“The fact is that we (lawyers) are all complicit in the matter. I really don’t know if we know how deep the problem is and how complicit we are,” he said.
“If the judiciary for instance can be courageous and decide to do substantial justice in the ongoing election tribunals, trust will automatically be conferred on the judiciary.”
