Re: NJC demands sack of judges
Is this a prelude to Justice Onnoghen’s full scale crackdown on judicial corruption? There couldn’t have been a more auspiciously pleasing, graphically-tempting and attention-grabbing banner headline, to announce the assertive advocacy, dedication and declaration of intent, by the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, to sanitise the Nigerian judiciary by launching his much […]
Is this a prelude to Justice Onnoghen’s full scale crackdown on judicial corruption? There couldn’t have been a more auspiciously pleasing, graphically-tempting and attention-grabbing banner headline, to announce the assertive advocacy, dedication and declaration of intent, by the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, to sanitise the Nigerian judiciary by launching his much awaited,” major crackdown on judiciary corruption”, than Daily Trust’s front page headline of Saturday, December 17, with the above caption.
The Nigerian public is familiar and quite enamoured of the rot in the judiciary, for a very long time, that, it is no longer news to announce how the Nigerian Judiciary has become an odiously bottomless cesspool that stinks with corruption; and the Nigerian courts have lost their relevance as, the temple, as well as, center of justice and the refuge for the innocents in the society. The popular tags, “Stock Market, Ghana Must Go and ATM” were popular coinage by Nigerians, to satirise the blossoming corruption syndicates, during the election tribunals.
Over the years, Nigerian global corruption rating index has increased, astronomically, to an alarming level, especially during the PDP era, which many observers believe, is not unconnected with the reckless impunity regime, influence peddling and undue interference with the judicial process by the then ruling party, which new credo for the rule of law is codified and defined under a new nomenclature of “might is right” during which, violations of electoral rules and regulations and other forms of voting irregularities were ignored and popularized, on the altar of partisan interests, despite their cumulative damages to the professional integrity of the judicial system.
Of course, the Nigerian judicial system has some the best men of the bar and bench, who can hold their heads and paused proudly, with their law gowns and wigs, anywhere in the world but there is the need to spike some of the bad eggs, whose corrupt indulgences have damaged the heard-earned and meritorious reputation of the Nigerian judicial officers, who were, in the recent past, sent to several African countries, on mentoring duties, to flag off their countries’ judicial systems.
On a positive note, Justice Onnoghen’s actions are commendable and timely and deserve the full support of all legal stakeholders, particularly, the new NBA leadership that has, demonstrated its tenacity and sincerity of purpose, to reposition the Nigerian judiciary and make it conform with the best global traditions and best practice
Abdulkarim Muhammad Abdullahi, Keffi, Nasarawa State.