GLOBALLY, the judiciary has been recognised as the bastion and fortress of democracy. It is the fulcrum on which the society rotates and stabilises. It is a leveler between the rich and the poor; the haves and have nots. It is a strong weapon that bridles the despotic action of the oppressors, so that the society can flourish and thrive on the pedestal of social justice. It was in recognition of the above that policy formulators and scholars branded judiciary as the last hope of the common man. Any nation that demeans the judiciary does that at its own peril. However, since the incursion of military into the Nigerian body polity, the performances of the judiciary have continued to nosedive. The judicial arm has become a rolling stone and instrument being used by mighty men and the rich to oppress their victims. Recently, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi raising alarm that Nigerian judiciary was no longer a fortress and a place of refuge for the common men.
From time immemorial, there had been consistent cases of pervasive corruption and financial inducement in the judiciary. There were alleged and confirmed cases of our lordships taking bribes to either pervert justice or bring a travesty to the judicial arm. We have witnessed a situation whereby a case pending in court was arrested through judicial process with no judgment passed at all. We have witnessed countless of cases whereby two courts of coordinate jurisdiction gave contradictory judgments on the same case. We encountered myriads of odious and mind-blowing injections handed down by the judiciary that shook the foundation of our democracy.(2) But, the question that should resonate in our lips should be: was the judiciary absolutely guilty? Are our judicial officers, who ordinary should be partisan and immune to corruption, being adequately taken care of? Are our leaders not pandering to partisanship, instead of merit in the appointment of judicial officers? Are there monthly and annual pay commensurate with what was obtainable globally? All these and more are questions begging for answers and pointing pathetically to the fact Nigeria too has not been fair to the judiciary.
It is only in Nigeria that a president and governors will be threatening the judiciary. The security arm is also not helping matters; they often refuse to enforce some judgments of the courts except there is public outcry. All these are factors that militating against judiciary, whittling down its potentials to be able to deliver the best for our democracy and Nigerians at large. But how to do we get out of this quandary? I agree totally with the submission of interested Nigerians and top member of the Bar that the country should implement better wages for our judicial officers to wean them off corrupt tendencies. It should be noted that a corrupt judge is worse than a criminal. It is a clear case of judicial banditry for any judge to take bribes to subvert the will of the people. Merit should also be elevated in the appointed of judicial officers. Qualified personnel should be recruited to the bench to buoy the qualities of judicial pronouncements.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) should be more potent to discharge its duty of exerting punitive action against earring officer and should be more decisive in discharging this onerous statutory duty.
Most importantly, the National Assembly should look into the statute book and carry out amendments to areas where the powers to appoint the chief Justice of Nigeria and chief judges of states are vested in the president and Governors. The National Assembly should look for a better alternative to absolutely or substantially remove the judiciary from the whims and caprices of the powerful individuals and politicians.
I appreciate the fact that Nigeria government was carefully aware of some of the rots in the judiciary and had been openly expressing serious concerns. It was on this premises that President Bola Admed Tinibu recently approved wage increase for judicial workers. Also, the CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola had while swearing-in some Appeal Court Justices warned that bribery, conflicting, judgments, perverse action and Judicial somersault would no longer be tolerated. I pray they live and act by their words.
- Aluko, a public affairs analyst, writes in from Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State.
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