Declare State of Emergency in Judiciary, Group Urges CJN
A human rights advocacy group, Access to Justice, has urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, GCON, to declare a state of emergency on the Nigerian Judiciary immediately.
Access to Justice said this is needed now, to because the delivery of justice services in Nigeria is in dire straits.
The group made the call in Lagos last Thursday at a press conference addressed by its Executive Director, Mr. Joseph Otteh and the Deputy Director, Dr. Adenike Aiyedun.
In a statement titled, “Worn Platitudes Won’t Do Now: Why The Chief Justice Of Nigeria Needs To Declare A ‘State Of Emergency’ On The Nigerian Justice System”, read by Dr. Aiyedun, stated that without an iota of doubt, Nigerians want to see more judicial reforms executed, with more speed and urgency.
“We need more traction and more resolve applied, in the fight to transform the delivery of justice in Nigeria. Our concern is that the current speed and pace of reforms, is neither strong nor vibrant enough and it is not creating the kind of momentum or impetus that Nigerians are eager to see.
“Furthermore, it is not galvanising change across the landscape, or demanding change from every constituent part of the Judiciary. Undoubtedly, the Chief Justice of Nigeria has a zeal to reform the Judiciary, but stakeholders in the justice system are not feeling the impact just yet. In our view, the Judiciary does not have the luxury of time, to enable it stretch a reform plan over the course of many years, and for an institution in distress, it ought not take too much time for far-reaching changes to be delivered.
“We can look at other African countries, to see how their own Judiciaries were revived, with particular reference to Kenya, whose Judiciary was the object of much ridicule before 2011. After Chief Justice Willy Mutunga took over as Chief Justice in 2011, however, he embarked on a far-reaching programme of action to reform the Judiciary. Although Chief Justice Mutunga did not achieve all his reforms in one day, he hit the ground running, and succeeded in overhauling a once-maligned institution into a now respectable voice of the rule of law and a strong pillar of democracy, in Kenya. Only recently, the Kenyan Supreme Court annulled the just concluded elections and ordered an immediate re-run, as a testament that things are no longer the same, in Kenya.
“It is time to acknowledge that, the delivery of justice services in Nigeria is in dire straits, and, we urge the Chief Justice of Nigeria, to declare a state of emergency on the Nigerian Judiciary immediately. This will provide a rallying urgency to the change we passionately aspire to.
“While we acknowledge that, some reforms may take more time to be implemented in order to produce results, we do believe that there are others that will not require a long berth, but can change the dynamics on the ground in remarkable ways. For example, Court delays at both trial and appellate levels are not inevitable, and human factors (more than the inherent features of trial dockets), contribute to the prolongation of trials in our courts. There are steps that can address the causes of delays immediately and we have outlined some below. It behoves the Judiciary, therefore, and we urge the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council, to adopt a three phase reform plan, that will include programmes to be implemented in the short-term, medium-term and long term”, the group stated.
Going forward, Access to Justice, suggested a 9-point agenda reform, which includes reduce court delay, Combat Corruption, Strengthen Judicial Integrity, Transparency and Accountability and Initiate Institutional Reforms.
According to the group, the National Judicial Council (NJC) should end arbitrary court closures, adding that many Judges often leave their primary adjudicative assignments to attend non-adjudicative functions, many of which are ceremonial events.
“The National Judicial Council (NJC), should end arbitrary court closures. Many Judges often leave their primary adjudicative assignments to attend non-adjudicative functions, many of which are ceremonial events, as it happened in the Federal High Court a few days ago, when Judges of the court unceremoniously left their courts in order to attend the valedictory ceremony of the out-going Chief Judge of the Court - Justice Ibrahim Auta. These “no-shows” have huge cost implications on everyone – litigants, lawyers and witnesses (some of who may have travelled long distances to be in court). They also cause terrible delays in the hearing of cases, thereby creating frustrations for many court users, congestion of dockets and diminish public confidence in the administration of justice.
“End practices of transferring judges from one jurisdiction to another, before the Judges conclude the cases on their court’s docket. Judge transfers take a huge toll on the time for completing cases, and entail many cases starting afresh, even where they may have been pending in court for many years, and are nearing completion.
“Judges’ vacation time should also be reviewed. The Chief Justice said Chief Judges of States, had been directed to create special anti-corruption courts. But if Judges of these courts, have to be away for about 3 months each year, not counting other “no-show” days, we may not see the expected changes, in the time taken to conclude corruption cases. Let us bear in mind that there are already designated courts in various states handling corruption cases, but it does not appear that these courts have achieved, their designed purpose. The Judiciary can begin by saying that Judges handling anti-corruption cases, should not go on extended holidays like other Judges, but arrange their own individual vacation schedules. There are countries that already do this. This will give a ring of urgency, to the anti-corruption role of courts."
Access to Justice also pointed out that, in order to restore public confidence in the Nigerian Judiciary, reforms must target all courts and their leadership administration/management.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria, as well as the NJC, should provide the inspiration and framework toreform Federal and State judiciaries, as well as rebuild and reform the delivery of justice, and fight corruption to win back public confidence in the justice system”, the group stated.