‘Buhari, govs must grant judiciary autonomy’
A former Attorney General of Ondo State, Wale Fapounda has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to grant the judiciary financial autonomy to strengthen the anti-corruption crusade. Fapounda, spoke yesterday at the 2016 Annual Lecture of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), which was organized in conjunction with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in […]
A former Attorney General of Ondo State, Wale Fapounda has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to grant the judiciary financial autonomy to strengthen the anti-corruption crusade.
Fapounda, spoke yesterday at the 2016 Annual Lecture of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), which was organized in conjunction with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja.
“To be sure I am yet to see how the prosecution of these judges will fundamentally change the reality of our court system. The issue of poor infrastructure affecting all court, defective judicial appointments and the tragic inability of most of the state governments to support judicial financial autonomy are known obstacles,” he said.
“Fighting judicial corruption is a good idea but a judiciary that frequently goes cap in hand to the executive for funding even for the most basic of its needs cannot by any stretch of imagination inspire citizens’ confidence.”
The foremost human rights activists also called on Buhari to urgently convene a meeting with all the 36 state governors for the establishment of a Judicial Benefits and Compensation Commission to review the salaries, allowances and benefits of judicial officers in the country.
He added that the findings of the commission should be submitted to the National Council of State for implementation.
Fapounda, who is also a member of the Justice Sector Reform Committee, enlisted journalists in the calls by the committee for Buhari to present his administration’s vision, policy, statement and action plan for the justice sector in the country, adding that “issues of security and the administration of justice cannot be undertaken on an ad hoc basis.”
He called for key reforms in the Judiciary, Police, and Prisons, explaining the need to appoint the Chief Visitor of Prisons to regularly review the conditions of prisons in the country.
He said given the level of congestion and poor physical conditions in prisons.
“The capacity of Port Hacourt Prisons is 804; at the time of our visit it held 3,865 prisoners. More than 3000 over congested. The sanitary and physical conditions were shocking. The population of awaiting trial prisoners was 3, 381,” he said.