CJN urges Nigerians to petition corrupt judges

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, has called on Nigerians to petition any Judicial Officer involved in unprofessional conduct to the National Judicial Council (NJC). Awassam Bassey, Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the CJN said in a statement yesterday that the CJN made this call in reaction to a publication in which Senator Uche Ekwunife claimed the judiciary robbed her of victory in the Anambra Central senatorial election held in 2015.

Justice Onnoghen said Nigerians should learn to take advantage of institutions that have been established to handle allegations of corruption and unprofessional conduct by judicial officers, including cases of judicial fraud, which the senator cited as the reason for the loss of her mandate in the law courts.

The CJN advised against individuals dragging the name of the Judiciary in the mud through unsubstantiated allegations in the mass media and advises such individuals to employ well-established institutions and avenues to petition.

The CJN calls on Ekwunife to petition the judges she accuses of corruption and unprofessional conduct.

He assured Nigerians that if anyone has evidence against any corrupt judicial officer, and such a person brings forward the necessary documents before the NJC, the concerned judicial officer or officers would be investigated and where found liable, dealt with in accordance with the law.

At the same time, the CJN warned politicians to desist from using the mass media to smear the ‘good image’ of the nation’s Judiciary in general, and the honest judicial officers in particular.