Anti-graft war not meant to intimidate judiciary —Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, assured the judicial community that the recent investigations involving some judicial staff were not aimed at intimidating the judiciary as wrongly portrayed in some sections of the media.

The president, who stated this while declaring open 2017 All Nigerian Judges Conference held at the National Judicial Institute, Abuja, further maintained that the action was in no way a prelude to usurping the powers of the National Judicial Council.

He said he was of the belief that the “majority of judicial officers are learned and incorruptible and always acting in the best spirit of their oath of office.”

According to the president, his administration’s commitment was to accord the judiciary its constitutional rights.

He, therefore, commended the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, for his recent decision to ask all judges at lower courts to provide him with a comprehensive list of all corruption and financial crimes in order to designate special courts to handle them.

The president stressed the need for fairness, impartiality, and speed in the administration of justice by the judiciary.

He also noted that there were backlogs of cases waiting to be dispensed, especially at the appellate levels.

He said the reform of the judiciary should start “by eliminating the seemingly endless delays in settling what to the layman apparently simple cases are.”