CJN: Lazy Judges will Be Relieved of their Jobs
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, yesterday said the National Judicial Council (NJC) would soon show indolent judges the way out of service.
The CJN disclosed this in Abuja while declaring open a national workshop for Judicial Officers on Judicial Ethics, Anti-corruption and Performance Evaluation organised by the National Judicial institute (NJI.)
The CJN who was represented by Justice Walter Onnoghen, stated thatnojudiciaryworthitscallingcould perform without abiding by judicial ethics. Hewarnedjudgesnottoallow extraneousengagementstoundermine their judicial functions.
According to him, judges must perform their judicial duties expeditiouslyanddexterously,without bias or prejudice.
He said: “It was due to the non-performance of some Judicial Officers that made the National Judicial Council (NJC) to put in place various mechanisms to periodically evaluate the performance of individual judicial officers.
“Those mechanisms are to gauge the productivity level of every individual judicial officer in Nigeria. The evaluation is done quarterly. The result so far has not all been encouraging, nevertheless, there is marked improvement. While some hard working judicial officers have received commendations, the indolent ones have received condemnation. Innodistantfuture,any indolentandunproductiveJudicialOfficer shall be shown the way out to make wayforhardworkingonestocomein.”
TheCJNchargedjudgestotakeserious, thequickdispensation of justice of every matter before them.
TheCJNpointedoutthatwhenthe judiciary- whichwasexpectedtoserve astheguardianof rule of law and the last hope of the common man – was itself enmeshed in corruption or corruptive tendencies, all the anti-corruption strategies of the whole country would be deprived of essential measures needed to increase the risk and reduce the benefits of corruption and to punish corrupt acts.