A retired Justice of the Court of Appeal, Prof Mojeed Owoade, has called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ensure improvement in the quality of the judiciary staff through training.
Owoade who is also the Chairman of the Technical Working Group (TWG) for ActionAid Nigeria
Citizens’ Led Engagements on Judicial Accountability (CLEAP) project, thought that the NJC should be equipped with the necessary data/information, and authority to address contradictions in judgments and prevent judges from issuing inconsistent judgments or disregarding decisions of superior courts.
He spoke at a recent forum on effective and efficient post-election justice delivery in Nigeria.
He said: “The National Judicial Council (NJC), through the National Judicial Institute (NJI), should ensure improvement in the quality of the judiciary staff through training.
“Tribunals should be empowered to call independent experts on elections to give expert opinions on election matters if and when the need arises.
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“It is further suggested that the NJC should be equipped with the necessary data/information, and authority to address contradictions in judgments and prevent judges from issuing inconsistent judgments or disregarding decisions of superior courts.”
On his part, the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, expressed sadness that the average politician in the country is making a mockery of the judiciary by doing everything possible to win elections and post-election court cases.
He said: “This is the second year of (CLEAP) project, so we deemed it fit to bring everyone together. We work with the poor to eradicate poverty. We are political because of the cause we fight for the poor. Poverty is very political. We take sides. We’re always on the side of the poor. We do on-field and post-election work, that is judicial engagements. We do the majority of our work in the courtroom.
“Unfortunately, it is getting more difficult for many to believe in the political value chain and judicial processes. Since we’re on the side of the people, we want the best for the people. The greatest threat to democracy is the politicians.
“The average politician is selfish. They are all interested in winning elections. Then they tell you to go to court. The country can burn for all it cares. Our concern is the poor. We are ready to engage the government in the interest of the poor, even if it means confrontation. We have to save democracy for the interest of all.”