Dr Ali Ahmad (Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly)
There are areas that are still crying for intervention in the judiciary. They include the delay in the administration of justice.
Yes, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2016) has been enacted, but we are not getting the desired results. The funding that is required is not yet there. It needs to establish some offices; I think that is why we are not getting the desired result. So, we need His Lordship to push for that funding.
Secondly, we need His Lordship to work on commercial matters. When we were working on the criminal aspect, we just chose one because that was the most pressing at that time. That was why we sponsored that bill. But having achieved that legislatively, My Lord should work on the administrative aspect and then go ahead and work on the civil aspect. The delay in the civil and commercial aspects is gargantuan. Fortunately, the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, is pushing for the ease of doing business so that when you have a commercial dispute, within three or four weeks, there is resolution of it.
Once we get these, the nation will not forget His Lordship. One other area that is very crucial which I have not seen people talk about is prosecuting witnesses. You see similar cases that are not treated similarly. There are people who are being prosecuted and the next morning, you will hear that those cases have been withdrawn by the Attorney-General’s office because they want to use that defendant as a witness in another case. I can cite the case of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, who was being prosecuted for allegedly embezzling about N2bn.
Next thing we heard was that the case had been withdrawn because he was going to be a witness in another case, where a Supreme Court Justice is being prosecuted for N50m. So, which one is better? Why not get the Justice of Supreme Court to be a witness for the case involving fewer amounts? Why would you withdraw a case of N2bn for that of N50m? These are the concerns. Unless the judiciary is cleansed, we will not have adequate faith. The justice sector must be cleansed without fear or favour.
Whether they are afraid or they are currying favour, you cannot tell me that those examples I have given are not without fear or favour. Even the Attorney in that Supreme Court Registrar’s case has withdrawn. For whatever case, I am not satisfied that somebody who is being prosecuted for N2bn has been withdrawn for somebody who is alleged to have embezzled N50m.
He should not create special courts because they are being manipulated by a powerful clique. When you create a special court, you create a special problem. Let the judiciary take it. He should get more judges and establish more divisions.
My Lordship should ensure the independence of the judiciary and that the judiciary is not cowed by anybody.
Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (Chairman, Niger Delta Development Commission)
He needs to restore the confidence of the public in the judiciary. You know that there is this trite saying that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.
Now, the public perception at the moment is that it is only the rich that can get justice; meanwhile justice should be a blind lady. It should be blind to status, tribe and religion.
The new CJN’s first step is to ensure that when the common man gets to our courts, he/she gets justice. All those issues of corruptions are subsumed under restoring the public confidence. Another aspect is the issue of reforms.
The judicial process today is tediously slow; that aspect must be immediately addressed too.
Ogulogu Omimi Obaide (Benin City-based legal practitioner)
First, the new CJN must reorganise the judiciary where merit is used in the appointment of judges. Again, he should improve on the condition of service of judicial officers to avoid bribe taking. Thirdly, he must ensure the independence of the judiciary. By so doing, financial autonomy should be given to the judiciary at all levels. Similarly, the conferment of Senior Advocate of Nigeria should be on merit; the era of money and god fatherism should be discouraged.
Furthermore, there should be speedy dispensation of justice. Also, in this 21st century, there must be computerisation, of filing processes in courts. When you for instance, file 23 copies of court papers, where are they stored?
Go to the stores or process offices of the various courts and you will be amazed at how papers litter the offices. Lastly, the welfare of staff of the judiciary should be considered in order to curb corrupt practices.
Charles Onuwabhagbe (Legal practitioner)
I do not think one should be talking about priority for the new CJN at this point in time because there are different areas of the judiciary that need attention.
But I think, on a general view, matters in the superior courts – Court of Appeal and Supreme Court – apart from politically exposed matters, take years to deal with and keep litigants in limbo. So, if such cases can move faster in the dispensation of justice, it will be better for litigants.
In the area of promoting the code of ethics for lawyers, the NBA has its disciplinary committees, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.
If there is a petition that gets to the National Secretariat that a lawyer has gone against the ethics of the profession, the committee is there to dwell on it. But if you go through the antecedent of the new CJN, as a judge on the bench, he is a man who has moral integrity.
He does not feel that anybody can push him around.
When the previous government was in power, he stood his ground and gave a landmark judgment. Unfortunately, he was in the minority. He did not follow the train of thought of others (justices). He did according to his conscience. So, I do not think the CJN is a man that can be easily pushed around.
I think he is a man who has risen above the worship of ephemeral things like money. As far as I am concerned, pressure will come, but like they say, when the head can resist pressure, all the others below will follow suit.
Samuel Okon (Legal Practitioner)
He should ensure that only practicing lawyers, who have covered the field, are appointed as judges, particularly at the High Court level; this will enhance performance. He must find a framework wherein judicial officers seek his permission before attending some social functions.
He must also review archaic laws. The welfare of judicial workers should be given priority to avoid strikes which do not augur well for the system.
Writing in long hand should be abolished as this impedes the speed in administering justice. He should ensure that our courts are computerised.
Kayode Ajulo (Principal Partner, Castle of Rock Chambers)
There was something that stood out during his confirmation hearing before the Senate and that was the issue of the time lag in the dispensation of justice. One area I think he can write his name in gold is to ensure that during his time, we enjoy good dispensation of justice.
Today, you see jungle justice here and there. The symbolism of this is that people are tired and have lost hope in the judicial system.
That is why you see that people resort to self help. Self help is a symptom of a loss of faith in our judicial system. I believe that one of the things that causes this – apart from corruption that people have been talking about – is the slow pace of the dispensation of justice.
Just look at what happened in America, immediately President Donald Trump issued his Executive Order. Within the twinkling of an eye, the matter was already at the Court of Appeal.
We need to see that in Nigeria. People are dying every day because of jungle justice; people are being lynched because people think when you take a suspect to the police, the police takes them to court and that is the end of the matter. We need to do something about this.
Let it be that during the time of His Lordship, Walter Onnoghen, the lost glory of the judiciary is brought back.
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