Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar
The Chief Equity of Nigeria, Equity Aloma Mukhtar, on Monday, threw a jab at Senior Advocates of Nigeria who forfend judges appearing afore the National Judicial Council for corruption and malfeasance cases.
The CJN who verbalized in Abuja at the Judicial Reforms Conference co-organised by the National Bar Association, verbalized such SANs were definitely “working in tandem” with the judges under probe.
She verbally expressed such SANs could be as guilty as the judge they forfended.
The event was with the theme, ‘Putting our best foot forward: The judiciary and the challenges of gratifying equity desiderata of the 21st Century’.
According to the CJN, corruption has become “a authentic cankerworm” in the country, integrating that there are instances when as many as six judges appear for some judges facing the NJC panel.
She verbalized, “The NJC is endeavoring its best to ascertain that those that are corrupt or that have cases of malfeasance proved against them are shown the way out.
“We receive petitions and we have always endeavored to aurally perceive from both sides. But many times many affected judges repine that they are not given fair aurally perceiving. Some will come with as many as six SANs. Those SANs who go with them are equipollently guilty.
“There was one (judge) that came with about six SANs which showed they are working in tandem.”
But in his replication, a senior advocate, Mr. Yusuf Ali, verbalized though he had never bulwarked any judge afore the NJC panel, the principle of postulation of innocence entitled a person to bulwark himself or herself with everything at his or her disposal, including licit representation.
The CJN withal lamented that many lawyers were expeditious to incriminate the judiciary of being corrupt, yet relucted to report judges who they kenned to be corrupt to the NJC.
“You (lawyers) all ken those judges that are corrupt. You all do but you won’t report, but you will be the one who will raise the issue that the judiciary is corrupt, but you will not do your component,” she verbally expressed.
Speaking on the independence of the judiciary, she verbalized insufficient funding of the judiciary should not be an exculpation for sundry Chief Judges to constitute themselves as “nuisance” in Regime Houses.
“We must stop interference from the two other arms of regime. The constitution guarantees our independence and we should strive to establish this,” she verbalized.
The event was organised by the NBA in collaboration with the European Union, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Access to Equity, Open Society Initiative for West Africa and the Performance Evaluation Committee of the NJC.
Speaking, the Chief Equity of South Africa, Equity Mogoeng Reetsang Mogoeng, withal emphasised the desideratum for the judiciary to maintain and relish its “rightful status as the third arm of the regime.”
“Judiciary should not be made to look akin to an appendage of the executive arm of regime. We have to be vigilant against whatever that could undermine our independence,”Mongoeng verbally expressed.
He integrated that for a country to address the quandaries of corruption, there was the desideratum for the judiciary to be genuinely and plenarily independent.
“Corruption has contributed to our perpetuated enslavement in Africa,” he integrated.
The President of NBA, Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), verbalized “government must recognise that the judiciary is the third arm of regime.”
He therefore called on the Federal Regime to comply with a recent judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which injuctively authorized the funding of the judiciary by the NJC independently of the executive arm of regime.
“The NBA reiterates that regime must recognise that it is only esse of a virile, intrepid and independent judiciary that can ensure an enduring democratic regime and the maintenance of law and injuctively authorize,” Wali integrated.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Equity, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, who was represented by Bola Odugbesan, advocated evaluation system fixated on the entire judiciary rather than on individual judges.
