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Tag: CJN

  • CJN urges judges to be politically neutral

    CJN urges judges to be politically neutral

    * Inaugurates 25 new justices of the Court of Appeal

     

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar has advised judges to be politically neutral in handling electoral disputes.

    The CJN also cautioned judges against engaging in unethical conduct and acts capable of lowering public confidence in the judiciary.

    Justice Mukhtar also urged judges to always maintain true allegiance to their judicial oaths and abide by the demands of the Code of Conduct for Judicial officers.

    The CJN spoke Monday in Abuja at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed 25 justices of the Court of Appeal.

    Justice Mukhtar advised the new justices to “work with your brother justices in the performance of your new arduous judicial functions, in order to sustain the confidence of the public in the Judiciary.

    “Bear in mind that the right to implement legal authority in any matter is predicated upon public opinion, and ethics.

    “Public confidence in the judicial system rests on public trust and perception as well as the established and sustained propriety of the Judiciary which help to encourage citizens’ readiness to comply with the law.

    “Thus, societal perception of the integrity of the judicial system occupies an important role in the assistance of social order by directing the law in a manner that guarantees; the important requirements of justice. For this reason you must contribute your best to efficiently administer Justice.

    “I wish to further stress that the judiciary will not tolerate, acts of misconduct and disloyalty from Judges, and so I urge you to maintain true allegiance to your judicial oaths and abide by the demands of the Code of Conduct for Judicial officers.

    “I urge you to understand that there is no middle ground and no room on the bench for those found to be contemptible arbiters of truth. There shall be zero tolerance to judicial corruption and misconduct in the Nigerian Judiciary.

    “As Judicial officers, you will soon be presiding over election cases, among others. Therefore, as Judges you must be politically neutral and rise up to safe guard our democracy, and ensure the rights of litigants and the tenets of justice are upheld and help to dispense justice for the purpose of safeguarding and protecting our constitution and its goals.

    “It is necessary to note that our task in our society is demanding and inexorable.  Your judgments and ruling will be tried by public opinion, and you will face criticism from electronic and print media, I urge you to persevere and remain firm in fulfilling your duties

    The new justices include Justices Hamma Akawu Barka (Gombe State), Joseph Jude Jella (Taraba State), Bitrus G. Sanga (Bauchi State), Muhammed Mustapha (Borno State),Yargata Nimpar (Gombe State), Sa’idu Tanko Hussein (Kogi State), Mudashiru N. Oniyangi (Kwara State) and Amina Audi Wambai  (Niger State).

    Others are Justices Ridwan Maiwada Abdullahi (Nasarawa State), Tani Y. Hassan (Kano State), Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu  (Jigawa State), Kadi Musa Hassan Alkali (Kaduna State), Jamilu Y. Tukur (Katsina State), Paul Obi Elechi (Ebonyi State), Ugochukwu A. Ogakwu (Enugu State) and Nonyerem Okoronkwo (Imo State).

    There are also Justices Joseph E. Ekanem (Akwa Ibom State), F.E. Oho (Delta State), Abimbola O.O. Adejumo (Edo State) Justices Bolokuromo M. Ugo (Bayelsa State), Biobele A. Georgewill (Rivers State), Oludotun A. Adefope-Okojie (Ogun State), Misitura O. Bolaji-Yusuf   (Oyo State), J.O.K.Oyewole (Osun State) and O.E. Williams-Dawudu (Lagos State).

  • Good choice

    Good choice

    The confab could not have a better chairman than Justice Kutigi

    For an alleged National Conference whose intentions have been mired in doubt even before it is inaugurated, the Federal Government’s announcement that it has appointed a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, as chairman, is a most welcome development.

    Even in a pantheon of eminent jurists distinguished by their scholarship, commitment and integrity, Justice Kutigi stands out. His tenure as CJN between January 2007 and December 30, 2009 was built on a 15-year stint as a Justice of the Supreme Court, and was devoid of controversy or scandal. His personal life, within and outside public office, has been characterised by the modesty and decorum that is so sadly lacking in much of the Nigerian elite.

    President Goodluck Jonathan is to be commended for the choice of Justice Kutigi. If there is one individual whose very presence can bring a much-needed credibility to bear upon the forthcoming conference, he is that person. The selection of such an indisputably honest personality as chairman of the National Conference is critical to countering the dubious intentions and bad faith in which it is steeped.

    Justice Kutigi has the onerous task of coordinating an unwieldy mass of nearly 500 delegates who will be participating with a variety of objectives and purposes, some of which are not as altruistic as they may seem. A significant proportion of the delegates are politicians of the old school who have forgotten nothing and learnt nothing. To make matters even more difficult, the conference is taking place against the background of an increasingly horrific militant insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria which has polarised the country’s ethnic, political and religious groupings like never before. In addition, there is also the poisonous atmosphere generated by the highly-charged politics of the run-up to the 2015 general elections.

    The National Conference chairman would do well to learn from the experiences of his predecessors like Justice Nikki Tobi, who was Chairman of the National Political Reform Conference (NPRC) set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005. Like the National Conference, it was beset by widespread doubts over its legitimacy and its effectiveness, not to mention the less-than-honourable objectives of those who established it. The NPRC was characterised by quarrelling instead of debate; it featured rhetoric rather than reason; compromise was overtaken by manipulation. In the end, it was no surprise that the whole contraption was rejected by everyone, including those who had ostensibly promoted it.

    If the National Conference is to avoid this fate, Justice Kutigi will have to lead by his own distinguished example of intellection and sobriety. Many of the delegates are seasoned politicians, veterans of the dark arts of horse-trading, double-speak and bombast. They will do their best to make the conference serve their own narrow ends; it is crucial that they are denied the opportunity to achieve this ignoble aim. One way to do this is to establish comprehensive procedures governing general comportment and behaviour, and prescribing the sanctions that will be imposed for any infraction.

    Justice Kutigi must ensure that the various committees which will be set up to look at various topics are made to focus squarely on their tasks and on the terms of reference guiding the conference itself. He must not allow the conference to be derailed by particular issues, no matter how controversial they may seem. In this regard, he must be especially careful about perennial hot-button issues like resource control, rotational presidency and tenure. If the delegates use such subjects to turn the National Conference into a shouting-match, very little will be achieved.

    As chairman, Justice Kutigi will have to display a finely-tuned combination of rigidity and flexibility. He must be the former when confronted with those who may wish to manipulate the conference to serve selfish desires or primordial yearnings, and he must be the latter when compromise appears to be the best option.

    The next three months will be crucial to the life of this nation. For the duration of that period, Justice Kutigi is likely to become Nigeria’s most important person. It will certainly not be easy for him. Every word he utters will be scrutinised; every gesture he makes will be studied. He will be taken to task for the things he said, and criticised for those he did not. He will be blamed for the excesses of delegates, but will face criticism when he tries to rein in those excesses.

    However, such is his towering stature as a jurist of unimpeachable integrity that there is widespread confidence in his ability to ride the coming storm and ensure that the country is presented with an outcome that will contribute significantly to its never-ending search for justice, equity and development. We have our reservations on the conference, but we can only hope that something good will come out of Nazareth this time around, with a distinguished jurist in control.

  • Olotu sues Jonathan, CJN, NJC, others

    Justice Gladys Olotu of the Federal High Court, one of the two judges recommended for compulsory retirement last week by the National Judicial Council (NJC), has sued the council, President Goodluck Jonathan and two others.

    The NJC ordered the suspension of Olotu and Justice Ufot Inyang of the Abuja High Court last week and recommended their retirement by President Jonathan, over “gross misconduct.”

    In the suit before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice Olotu is challenging the decision and recommendation of the NJC.

    Yesterday, Justice Ademola heard in the chambers, a motion ex-parte by which Justice Olotu is seeking leave to apply for an order of certiorari for a judicial review of her suspension and recommendation for retirement by the NJC.

    Also named in the suit are the chief justice, the attorney- general of the federation and the chief judge of the Federal High Court.

    Justice Olotu’s lawyer, Sunday Ameh (SAN), confirmed the proceedings in the chambers yesterday.

    He said Justice Ademola granted his client’s motion and adjourned hearing till March 19.

    He said the judge ordered that parties in the case be served with his client’s motion.

    Ameh said the suit is intended by his client to protect her rights. He refused to give further details.

    When told the President has acted on the NJC’s recommendation and retired his client, Ameh denied knowledge of such development.

    The NJC, in a statement last week, said the decision to retire Justice Olotu was informed by its findings on the allegations contained in the petitions written against her. The findings include:

    •That she “failed to deliver judgment, only to deliver same in Suit No. FHC/UY/250/2003, 18 months after the final address by counsel in the suit, contrary to the provisions that judgments should be delivered within 90 days;”

    •That she “admitted before the Fact-finding Committee of the council, which investigated the allegations that she forgot she had a pending ruling to deliver in an application for joinder;”

    •That she “entertained a post-judgment matter in suit No. FHC/UY/CS/250/2003 in Port Harcourt after delivering judgment, which made her functus officio;” and

    •That in another case: Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/505/2012, “Justice Olotu failed to deliver judgment twice.”

  • THE MAN KUTIGI

    THE MAN KUTIGI

    Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi was born on December 31, 1939. He was the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) from January 30, 2007 to 30 December 30, 2009.

    Born in Kutigi, Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State. He attended elementary school in that town and middle and secondary school in Bida.

    He attended Government College (now known as Barewa College), and then to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and the Gibson and Weldon College of Law, before returning to attend the Nigerian Law School in Lagos.

    Kutigi served as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State before becoming a high court judge in 1976.

    He joined the Supreme Court in 1992 and served for 10 years before President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him Chief Justice to succeed Salihu Alfa Belgore.

    On Kutigi’s retirement on December 30, 2009, he swore in his successor, Aloysius Iyorgyer Katsina-Alu because President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who should have sworn him in was not available due to illness.

    Prof. Akinwande Bolaji Akinyemi was born on January 4, 1942 in Ifewara, Osun State. The political science professor was the External Affairs Minister from 1985 to late 1987.

    He attended Igbobi College in Yaba from 1955 until 1959, Christ’s School in Ado Ekiti from 1960 to 1961, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1962 to 1964, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, US, 1964 to 1966, and Trinity College, Oxford University, England, from 1966 until 1969.

    He was a visiting professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and at the Diplomacy Training Programme, University of Nairobi, Kenya, both in 1977. He was Regents Lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, US in 1979, Professor of Political Science at the University of Lagos, from 1983 until 1985, and Visiting Fellow, St. John’s College, Cambridge, England in 1984.

    Akinyemi was Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) from 1975 until 1983.

    During the short-lived Third Republic of 1993, he called on the military to overthrow Ernest Shonekan’s administration;

    Gen. Sani Abacha, defence minister at the time, later did so and assumed the position of head of state. Akinyemi was later among those who opposed Abacha’s regime.

    In August 2007, President Umaru Yar’Adua appointed him to the Justice Muhammadu Uwais-led Electoral Reform Panel. He was also recently appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan as a member of the Kabiru Turaki-led Presidential committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North otherwise known as Boko Haram panel.

    He has been married to Rowena Jane Viley since 1970. They have one son and three daughters.

  • Lawyers to CJN: Tread with caution

    Lawyers to CJN: Tread with caution

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) has sanctioned five judges for what it called ‘gross misconduct’ and ‘low performance.’ Its action brings to nine the number of judicial officers penalised since July, 2012 when Justice Aloma Mukhtar became its chairman following her appointment as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Lawyers argue that though the effort to enhance ethical conduct among judicial officers is commendable, the big stick should be applied with caution. ERIC IKHILAE reports.

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) has wielded the big stick, again, sanctioning former Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Dalhatu Adamu and four judges.

    It suspended Justices Gladys Olotu (of the Federal High Court) and Ufot Inyang (Abuja High Court) and recommended that they be retired by President Goodluck Jonathan. It sent warning letters to Justices Adamu, A. A. Adeleye (Ekiti State High Court) and D. O. Amaechina (Anambra State High Court).

    They were accused of engaging in acts amounting to “gross misconduct.” In the case of Justices Olotu and Inyang, the NJC said its decision was informed by its findings after investigating thr petitions against them. In justice Olotu’s case, the Council said it found:

    •That she “failed to deliver judgment only to deliver same in Suit No. FHC/UY/250/2003, 18 months after the final address by all the counsel in the suit, contrary to the constitutional provisions that judgments should be delivered within a period of 90 days”;

    •That she “admitted before the Fact Finding Committee of the Council that investigated the allegations that she forgot she had a pending ruling to deliver in an application for joinder”;

    •That she “entertained a post-judgment matter in Suit No. FHC/UY/CS/250/2003 in Port Harcourt after delivering judgment, which made her functus officio” and

    •That in another case: Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/505/2012, “Hon. Justice Olotu failed to deliver judgment twice.”

    As regards Justice Inyang, the NJC said it found, among others, that he “included in his judgment, references to the Garnishee Proceedings, which came after the judgment had been delivered on December 20, 2011.

    It added that Justice Inyang “included the name of the counsel to the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru (SAN), who came into the matter after the judgment of December 20, 2011 was delivered.”

    Justice Inyang was said to have “recklessly signed a writ of execution, a day after delivering his judgment of December 20, 2011, the same day a Notice of Appeal and Motion on notice for stay of execution were filed.”

    The NJC said it found that the judge continued with the garnishee proceedings, despite application for stay of execution; and that before delivering his judgment of December 20, 2011, Justice Inyang “ignored a properly filed Motion on Notice for leave to file additional witness statement on oath.”

    Justice Adamu, who presides over the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, was warned for “deliberately absenting himself from duty”, which the Council said “is an act of gross misconduct contrary to the provisions of the Constitution and the Code of Conduct of Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    The offence of Justices Adeleye and Amaechina was that of “very low performance.”

    This latest case brings to nine the number of judges that has so far been sanctioned since the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and NJC Chairman Justice Aloma Mukhtar, assumed office on July 16, 2012.

    Others were Justices Thomas Naron (Plateau State High Court), Charles Archibong (Federal High Court), Abubakar Talba (Abuja High Court) and Okechukwu Okeke (Federal High Court). Justices Naron and Archibong were recommended for retirement; Justice Talba was suspended for 12 months; Justice Okeke was warned.

    Beside, the firmness with which the NJC now enforces the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, the current leadership of the judiciary has also introduced some measures for eliminating identified institutional challenges.

    Some of them are the review of the Rules of Practice and Procedure and the issuing of Practice Directions to eliminate trial delays. Each judicial officer’s performance is now being evaluated based on key performance indicators to enhance efficiency.

    Developments in the judiciary since the emergence of its current leadership have attracting divergent views, with some praising the forces driving the changes. Others called for caution, warning that a possible derailment could occur.

    Those in support have termed the seeming frequency of sanctioning judicial officers and the various initiatives introduced in recent time as an attempt to ensure discipline among officers and enhance performance.

    They also see the developments as a realisation of the CJN’s Justice Muktar pledge, on assumption of office, to cleance the judiciary.

    During her screening by the Senate on July 11, 2012, admitted that the temple of justice had been desecrated by some elements.

    “As at now, it is very bad and I am saddened by it. I will try. I don’t want to sound like a broken record. I will try to make sure that the confidence reposed in the judiciary, as it was before, is returned. I will try to ensure that the bad eggs that are there are flushed out. That there will be a cleansing by the NJC based on petitions.

    “It is sad that the ordinary man on the street thinks and feels that he cannot get justice. This is because of the situation we find ourselves. I will ensure that this perception changes,” Justice Mukhtar had said.

    Critics, however, are of the view that there is the need for caution to prevent a situation where judicial officers begin to exhibit what they termed symptoms of excessive control, which include demotivation.

    They argued that a situation where a judge begins to look behind his or her shoulders, before exercising his or her discretion in taking decisions, would be antithetical to the known tradition of judicial independence.

    Critics noted that a cleanse and upright judiciary cannot be attained under the prevailing practice where judges’ appointment and promotion are influenced from outside the system.

    They observed that most judges toil daily to ensure balance between objectivity and pressure from the interests that influenced their appointment and promotion.

    To ensure a cleanse and an upright judiciary, critics said emphasis should be on how to ensure a system that abhors patronage but rewards hard work and merit.

    Lawyers, including Dr. Abubakar Uthman, Johnson Daramola, Anthony Nwachukwu and Gideon Tokori are of the view that while the current reforms in the judiciary are welcomed, it must be carried out with caution to avoid a situation where the ‘baby is thrown away with the bath water.’

    Uthman said while the promptness with which the NJC addresses petitions against judges is commendable, “the Judiciary must evolve a system that effectively screens out frivolous and malicious petitions from meritorious ones that require attention.”

    He urged the NJC to always subject petitions and complaints against judicial officers to thorough scrutiny before taking action.

    Daramola stressed the economic implication of having many retired judges, who draw retirement benefits from the public fund. He said cases where judges are retired prematurely, unwittingly populates the rank of retired judges. “In such cases, we lose their services prematurely and yet, pay them retirement benefits for life.”

    He said those, whose cases are proved to be bad, and are found to have breached their oath of office and committed gross misconduct, should be sacked outrightly.

    “The idea of compulsory retirement is like giving soft landing to people, who are found wanting,” he said.

    Nwanchukwu contented that since Nigeria is reputed as a corrupt nation, the judiciary should not, in a bid to prove to the world that it is better than the other sectors, over subject its personnel to scrutiny.

    “This can result in loss of self-confidence and independence of mind on the part of the judges. Why is the NJC harsh on judges when the Executive pampers the rogues among them?

    “Don’t we read in the papers and see on television how these ministers loot the nation’s treasury blind and yet, the President looks the other way or at best reluctant to sanction them? The NJC should stop being quick to fire or sanction erring judges. They should be given opportunities to make amend.

    Tokori advised that the NJC, under Justice Muktar should not be hasty in wielding the big stick. He observed that more judges are being sanctioned now than before. He wondered how many will still be affected before the CJN retirees later this year.

    “The lady (CJN) should be cautious. Every wrong should not end in compulsory retirement. Some of those, who have been sacked, are seen by some of us as good materials, who ought to be encouraged. These people are faced with a lot of pressure and tempting offers. It really takes the grace of God not to fall for such tempting offers as a judge in Nigeria,” Tokori said.

     

  • Lawyers petition CJN over appointments in Abuja High Court

    Lawyers petition CJN over appointments in Abuja High Court

    A group, the  League of Solicitors Against Injustice and Official Victimisation,  has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar over alleged promotion of ethnicity in the appointment of administrative and judicial staff by the Chief Judge of Abuja High Court, Justice Ibrahim Bukar.

    The group  urged the CJN to set up a committee to urgently investigate all the fundamental issues raised in their petition.

    In the petition dated December 5, 2013, the group alleged that the Federal Character provision in Sections 13 and 14 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was not followed in the appointments made by the Abuja Chief Judge.

    Sections 13 and 14 of the 1999 Constitution states that: “It shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government, and all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive, judicial powers to conform to, of serve and apply the provisions of this chapter on this constitution.

    And that, “The composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the Federal Character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies.”

    Justice Bukar, the group alleged, acted in a way to show that he is oblivious of or insensitive to the provisions of the constitution in his recent appointments of staff of the judiciary.

    The lawyers listed  10 departments in the FCT High Court where most of the appointments reflected people from one geo-political part of the country.

    In the petition signed by its executive secretary, Mr. Bamidele Ogundele, the group pointed out that only two of the departments, Planning, Research and Statistics and Litigation are headed by southerners while the remaining eight departments are manned by northerners.

    The petition gave the identity of the departments held by northerners to include Finance and Supply; Administration; Abuja Multi-Door Court; Magistracy; Return Cases; Probate; Information Technology and Library.

    The group alleged  that the Chief Judge retained the Director of Finance, Alhaji Ibrahim Buba,  a retired civil servant because he is on contract.

    They claimed that the only reason for not allowing a serving civil servant to be in that position is because the person who would have occupied it was from the south.

    “Most importantly, the above was the position of things until November 21, 2013, when a new department was created by the Chief Judge from the existing litigation department. The Chief Judge promptly made Hajiya Zainab Mohammed Fufore the head of that department. She is also a northerner.

    “But the fact that she is a northerner is not the problem. The problem is that Hajiya Zainab Mohammed Fufore is not the most senior person to occupy that position. She is on Grade Level 15 as an Assistant Chief Registrar 1 at the FCT High Court when there are more than six people who are senior to Hajiya Zainab Mohammed Fufore and who are on Grade Level 16 as Deputy Chief Registrars”.

    The petition  was copied to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character; his House of Representatives counterpart; the National Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); all members of the National Judicial Council; the Executive Secretary, Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO) and the President, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).

    It posed three questions:

    – What are the criteria for the appointment of contract staff when there are highly competent staffers in the service?

    –  What are the criteria for the appointment of Hajiya Fufore over six highly dedicated senior staffers that had been working tirelessly, relentlessly and assiduously over the years and

    –  Why the incumbent Chief Judge appears to have continued in the ethnic policy of  his former boss (names with-held)?

    When contacted, the Public Relation Officer (PRO), FCT High Court, Mrs. Tabita Kangiwa confirmed the existence of the petition, but stressed that the issues raised in it are not new and are baseless.

    Kangiwa said the court would prefer not to comment on the petition since it is before the NJC and await the outcome of NJC’s handling of the petition.

    An NJC official, who sought not to be named, confirmed that the petition was before the NJC, but advised that all parties should await NJC’s decision on it.

    “NJC will look at the issues raised by the petitioners, call for respnse from the FCT High Court’s management, and reach a decision one way or another.

    “Until that happens, there is nothing I can say about the matter,” he said.

  • CJN seeks support for national registration

    CJN seeks support for national registration

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, has called for support for the national registration by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

    The CJN said the exercise, meant to produce a national database, would assist the police and other anti-graft agencies in their investigation and aide criminal prosecution.

    She said: “The idea of establishing a national identity database in Nigeria and the national identity card enrolment exercise is a noble one to help the police and anti-graft agencies in the investigative process of prosecution of criminal matter.”

    Justice Mukhtar spoke in Abuja yesterday at the beginning of the enrolment for workers of the Supreme Court, National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Federal Judicial Service Commission by the NIMC at the Supreme Court complex.

    The CJN was accompanied by 15 other justices of the Supreme Court, including Mahmud Mohammed, Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, Muhammad Saifullah Muntaka-Coomassie.

  • CJN, NJC cautioned on Judiciary reform

    CJN, NJC cautioned on Judiciary reform

    A former judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Bello, yesterday urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria (NJC) and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to be cautious in their reform of the Judiciary.

    He advised the CJN, being the chairman of the NJC, to implement the reform in the sector without causing any harm to the system.

    The former judge noted that for the reform to be effective, it must ensure the security, the welfare and tenure of judicial officers.

    This, he said, would encourage them (judges) to put in their best.

    Justice Bello spoke in Abuja, at a valedictory court session in his honour.

    The jurist, whose colleagues and other dignitaries at the event described as “a man of integrity and honesty,” retired from the court on December 31, last year, on attaining the statutory retirement age of 65 years. He served for 18 years at the Federal High Court.

    Justice Bello noted that the ongoing reform by the NJC to improve on justice delivery was a step in the right direction.

    He said: “Care must be taken when it comes to the discipline of judges, so that the baby is not thrown away with the bath water.

    “While it is right and proper for the NJC to discipline erring judges, it should also intensify efforts to ensure the welfare of judges and protect their tenure. It is only then the judges can put in their best.”

    The Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, decried the continued erosion of moral values in the society.

    He blamed this on poverty and greed.

    The eminent jurist also frowned at the lawyers’ attitude of writing frivolous petitions against judges.

    He said: “The virtues of excellence and selfless service are today highly endangered in our society as a result of poverty and desperation. These have affected all facets of our existence as a people. They are dangerously creeping into the Judiciary where the hopes of the proverbial common man reside.

    “It is now commonplace for lawyers and even litigants to write petitions against judicial officers when they lose their cases or even mere suspicion that they may lose their case before a judge.

    “Let me use this opportunity to reiterate that for us in the Federal High Court, we must continue to adhere to absolute good conduct and discharge of our judicial functions within the confines of the law and without fear or favour.”

  • NBA honours CJN, others

    NBA honours CJN, others

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Abuja branch has given the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Mariam Aloma Mukhtar an award.

    The CJN was honoured for providing exemplary leadership to the judiciary since coming to office.

    Others honoured are President of the National Industrial Court (NIC) Justice Babatunde Adejumo, for his efforts in seeing to the passage of the NIC law by the National Assembly.

    The law made the NIC a Superior Court of record. His efforts also saw the establishment of several Divisions of the Court in almost all the state.

    The Unity Bar gave the awards at an event in Abuja as part of its activities marking its 2013 law week.

    The branch Chairman, Mr. Desmond Yamah, praised Bar leaders and Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who participated actively in the event.

    He noted the choice of the theme: “Law, leadership and socio-economic transformation: the Nigerian experience”, was to critically appraise the role of the judiciary in the country’s socio-economic and political development.

    He noted that some key players in the judiciary have demonstrated exemplary virtues worthy of emulation in the discharge of their duties and, therefore, deserve recognition by the branch.

    NBA President Okey Wali (SAN) restated the Bar’s commitment to transparency and obedience to the rule of law.

    Commending the Abuja branch, Wali said NBA would always encourage probity and transparency in the running of the country’s affairs.

    Mr. Akinlabi Sylvester Akingbade from the law firm of J-K Gadzama LLP won the most well-behaved male young lawyer award.

    Miss Udo Unogu from S. I. Ameh & Co won the most well-behaved female young lawyer award.

    The event was attended by dignitaries and leaders of the Bar and Bench.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • New PCA to emerge in February

    New PCA to emerge in February

    A new President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) will emerge in February, it was learnt yesterday.

    The Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria said there was no rift in the National Judicial Council (NJC) on the appointment of a successor to the former president, Justice Isa Ayo Salami.

    Justice Salami retired in October, leading to intense lobbying for the office.

    There are two options being considered to guide the appointment of a substantive PCA.

    The options are either to jettison seniority in the hierarchy of the Court of Appeal or second a judge from the Supreme Court to head the appellate court.

    There are three senior judges at the Court of Appeal; former Acting PCA Justice Dalhatu Adamu (Niger); Acting President Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa (Gombe) and Justice Amiru Sanusi(Katsina).

    Justice Adamu served as acting president for 15 months, while Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa has spent about a year in office.

    It was gathered that besides the intrigues among judges, the NJC is yet to begin the process of appointing a PCA.

    A source said: “By the reckoning of the NJC and the CJN, the earliest possible date for the appointment of a substantive PCA is February when the tenure of the Acting PCA Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa would have elapsed.”

    Media Aide to the CJN Ahuraka Yusuf Isah yesterday said there was no division in NJC on the appointment of a new president of the Court of Appeal.

    He said there was no time members of the NJC walked out as a result of the disagreement on the new PCA.

    “The NJC has rules that where there is no consensus over a matter, the decision is arrived through voting.

    “The question of protest by way of walking out on the revered Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, is a mere figment of the imagination.

    “Besides, there is no vacuum in the Court of Appeal leadership since the appointment of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa is yet to lapse.”