Integrity of judges

AT TWO different events within a month, both President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, spoke on the need for judges in Nigeria to uphold integrity in the discharge of their onerous responsibility.

Over the years, there have been calls for total reform in the judicial system and we support this clarion call in order to instil integrity in judicial administration in Nigeria as well as enhance the image of the country.

Against the foregoing background, we support the president as he calls on our judges to stop instances of delays or outright inaction in some high-profile corruption cases. Our country’s justice system has become notorious for delays, usually occasioned by a combination of endless adjournments, incessant interlocutory applications and overwhelming caseloads, a situation that breeds a huge disincentive for businesses.

It is indeed not for nothing that Nigeria ranks near bottom on the ease of doing business index.

The World Bank Group’s Enforcing Contracts Indicator currently ranks the country 143 out of 189 countries. But in pursuing its internal reforms, the judiciary must always remember that one of its key roles is the promotion of equity and social justice.

We believe that the reforms should be total and must consider the need to clean up the systems and processes in the magistrate and district courts and all other lower courts, which handle matters involving the poor and the less-privileged.

The justice sector reforms must also seek to position and portray these courts as humane and efficient, and must extend beyond the judiciary by reviewing laws, institutions, processes and procedures that inhibit speedy justice delivery. That way the country’s judiciary would be seen as making a great leap.