By John Austin Unachukwu
The Senate has demanded a special intervention fund to enable the judiciary function efficiently and effectively.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Opeyemi Bamidele, noted that unless this was done, judicial corruption would be difficult to combat.
Senator Bamidele, who spoke during the Upper Chamber’s screening of Justice John Tsoho and Justice Benedict Kanyip last Monday, said the judiciary needed rescuing.
Justice Tsoho was nominated for the position of Chief Judge of the Federal High Court while Justice Kanyip was nominated for the position of the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), following the retirement of the former President of the Industrial Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo from service.
Their names were forwarded to the Senate for confirmation by President Muhammadu Buhari before he travelled abroad.
Responding to the justices’submissions during the confirmation hearing, Bamidele said the judiciary was vulnerable to compromise because it was underfunded.
He noted that democracy could not grow or survive in any country with a compromised judiciary.
Read Also: Senate probes N5.5b Kagara Dam project
Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central in the National Assembly, said: “The problem at hand is that the judiciary is corrupt and it is time for Nigeria and Nigerians to rise and rescue the judiciary with adequate funding.
“As it is with the nation’s judiciary today, even if saints are appointed from heaven to serve as justices and judges in our courts, it is only strength of character that can prevent them from being corrupt and dispense justice as required.
“Extra-budgetary provisions will help the judiciary to function properly.”
The lawmaker commended Buhari for increasing the budgetary allocation for the judiciary on yearly. But he said the increments fell short of what was required.
“Within the last four years, the budgetary provision for the judiciary has been experiencing marginal increases under the present administration, but it is not yet Uhuru.
“The special intervention fund must come first before a consistent increase on an annual basis,” Bamidele said.
Leave a Reply