Admin l Tuesday, May 15, 2018
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen on Monday said that the judiciary needs knowledgeable men of honour and integrity to deal with executive recklessness and that it remains the only available recourse against the abuse of executive power and interpretation of law.
Justice Onnoghen stated this yesterday in a lecture delivered at the first bi-annual lecture of the Lagos State Judiciary held at the Lagos City Hall, Lagos. He spoke on the theme: “Judicial Standards, Integrity, Respect and Public Perception: A Comparative Analysis From Independence In 1960 Into The Present Millennium”. The CJN who was represented by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, lamented that appointments of judges have become highly politicised as a governor of a state will not approve the names of persons nominated for the bench for the NJC scrutiny if the names of his candidates are not included on that list.
He regretted that the system of making appointment to the judiciary which the country inherited from Britain is such that the whole of the Judiciary is dependent upon the practising lawyers for its personnel. To restore integrity in the judiciary, Justice Onnoghen emphasized that the system of training lawyers in the universities should be reviewed.
He stressed that law be made a second degree course in the universities pointing out that this will help reduce the current influx of young people into the faculties of law across the country and in turn help produce more matured mind who truly desire to be lawyers.
He suggested in addition that lawyers desirous of appointment to the bench should in addition to the ten years post call requirement have a post graduate degree in law in order to “sharpen their intellect and widen the educational horizon of the lawyers and of course, the future Judges”.
He added: “We cannot build a strong judiciary from a weak bar. A situation where our current law under graduates cannot take notes nor write exams with a good command of English language is regrettable”.
“We have inherited the British Judicial system along with conservative tradition. My plea is that we must free ourselves from this conservatism and build a Judiciary having not only the will but also the intellectual capability to contribute to our national development; in order to meet with the country’s efforts to meet the challenges posed by rapid social, economic, technological and political developments of the present time.
“It is consequently right to agree with Schwartz that: ‘The quality of justice depends more on the quality of men who administer the law than on the content of the law they administer. Unless those appointed to the bench are competent and upright and free to judge without fear or favour, a judicial system, however sound its structure may be on paper, is bound to function poorly in practise?” Corruption, incompetence and delays in the dispensation of justice are some of the identified enemies of judicial integrity. These should be addressed if the judiciary is to earn the respect of citizens and litigants. While “an incompetent judge is a misfit, a corrupt judge is a disgrace to his peers or of course to our noble profession”, he stated.
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who was Chairman of the lecture said in view of the strategic role occupied by judicial officers in the country, it was important for them to always be above board and uphold ethical standards.
Prof Osinbajo, who was represented by Special Assistant to the President on Economic and Finanacial Crimes, Mr Biodun Aikomo, added: “Judges must be beyond reproach; they must be above board; they must abide by ethics and standards of the profession and dispense justice without rightly.”
Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, in his remarks, said the major reforms being implemented in both judiciary and security sectors in the State were targeted at creating a sound pedestal for residents to be productive and in turn boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the State.
“I want to say that I am very proud of the judicial sector reforms going on in the State; we are very proud of the work being done by the Chief Judge and the combination of the efforts being carried out by the Attorney General and Chief Judge is something we need to support. It is now very obvious that some major reforms are going on in the judicial sector and we are very proud as the executive arm of government to support the judicial sector reforms which we are also complementing with our security sector reforms.
“In totality, the reforms are aimed at improving the economy of Lagos and grow the GDP and what is going on in the judicial sector is significant and we are very proud of it,” he said. In opening remarks, Justice Opeyemi Oke lauded Governor Ambode for supporting the reforms being implemented in the State Judiciary, describing him as a man of vision who is known for pursuit of excellence and international best standards in every area of his administration.
Justice Oke said the present administration in the judiciary is desirous of implementing reforms that would improve the administration of justice in the state and set pace for other states.
She said the lecture, which is the first of its kind not only in Lagos but in other jurisdictions, was designed to facilitate closer interaction between judiciary and the bar both in terms of practice and continuing legal education. Justice Oke said the topic of the lecture was intended to be thought provoking and to prompt stakeholders in the administration of justice sector, assess judicial standards while also inspiring judicial reform initiatives.
The CJ, who reeled out some of the reforms being implementing including judicial ethics and administration, old cases above 20 years elimination programme, designation of special offences court, sexual offences court, small claims court, child rights law and regulations, prison decongestion effort, among others, said the lecture was one of the initiatives put together to advance justice delivery in the State.
