CHANNELS TV
A former President of Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Boma Ozobia, on Tuesday gave her opinion on why judges being investigated by Nigeria’s security agencies should recuse.
She says there is need to sustain the confidence of litigants in the judiciary and highlighted that the judges’ continued presence would weaken Nigerians confidence.
Officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force had on October 7 and 8 raided homes of judges and arrested some of them, alleging their involvement in corrupt practices and misconduct.
Several comments have trailed their arrests, but discussions on the issue have tilted to the confidence of the public in the judiciary, with the national lawyers’ body, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), asking the judges to recuse or for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to suspend them from further participation in cases.
On Moral Perspective
On moral grounds, Mrs Ozobia believes the judges should step down, since the interest of the public is paramount on the issue.
She, however, stressed that corruption was not peculiar to Nigeria, since judges are humans.
“It is not peculiar to Nigeria. Judges are human beings and they are members of the society.
“If we are talking about corruption in other sectors, certainly you will have corruption in the judiciary.
“Let us look at this from the perspective of a litigant. The most paramount interest has to be the interest of the people who use the court system – litigants.
“These are citizens of Nigeria who rely on the court as the last hope of the common man.
“It is not in their best interest to have situations like this where judges are being investigated and they are also presiding over cases.
“It is clear to me that whilst investigation is ongoing, each individual, on moral perspective, cannot continue to sit. I think that undermines the confidence of the public,” she told Channels Television on Tuesday while giving her opinion on the demand of the NBA.
Defending her opinion further, she pointed out that “when a lawyer is called to the bar, we are supposed to be feat and proper persons. It is a requirement of this profession.
“They have to take the higher moral ground. You don’t wait for the NJC to suspend you. You recuse yourself whilst the investigation is ongoing.
“Where there is a conflict of interest, the citizens interest is paramount,” she insisted.
After the lawyers were released, days after their arrest, the NJC said it had opened investigation into the complaints against the judges, but the DSS asked the NJC to send copies of its dispensary proceedings.
The request is not constitutional, the President of the NBA, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, told reporters.
He says the NJC is not accountable to the DSS.
“The constitution gives the NJC the sole authority to deal with all dispensary matters and it is not answerable to other body under the law.
“If the DSS is not satisfied and has additional evidence that supports any allegations against any judge, we think that it should have, through the appropriate channels, brought those additional complaints to the NJC.
The government had extended its anti-corruption fight to the Judiciary, but a retired Supreme Court Judge, Samson Uwaifo, says the third arm of government is not corrupt.
“But it cannot be denied that there are some corrupt judges.
“A corrupt judge is more harmful to the society than a man who runs amok with a dagger in a crowded street. If a judge is corrupt, he is no longer a judge, he is a thief,” he stressed.
Amidst this uproar lies the need for adequate judicial policy that would prescribe stringent punishment for judges found guilty of corrupt practices.
For Mrs Ozobia, an open process of investigation by the NJC would deepen the confidence of Nigerians in the system.
“We have sufficient laws in place for anyone who feels that the petition’s allegation defames them in any way to seek redress.
“There is no reason why there should not be media presence and the presence of the consuming public to the services that we provide. We are accountable to the citizens because we are there for them,” she explained.
Whilst investigation is ongoing, no judge has so far recused from presiding over their courts to allow for proper investigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment