Elder statesman and leader of the Ijaw nation, Edwin Clark, has called on the newly appointed Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to prioritise a complete overhaul of the judiciary system, as failing to do so could lead to the collapse of the institution.
Clark made the call in an open letter addressed to the CJN on Thursday, where he also urged her to use her tenure to address concerns and allegations of corruption and dysfunction within the judiciary and the Nigerian Bar Association.
In his letter, the former Federal Commissioner for Information lamented several failed attempts by past CJNs to implement institutional reforms in the judiciary, noting that efforts by former CJN Justice Dahiru Musdapher were left unfinished.
Clark asked Justice Kekere-Ekun to “restore the past glory of the Judiciary”, citing corruption scandals, undue political influence on court judgments and the mistreatment of the former CJN, Walter Onoghen, as evidence of decay in the judiciary.
Part of the letter read, “I humbly wish to address Your Lordship as a senior citizen of our country on a matter which is causing great agitation, anger and tension in our beloved country. Corruption and the recent scandalous and unhealthy development in the judiciary are fast becoming a bane in our society.
“The humiliation and inhumane treatment meted to the former CJN, Justice Walter Onoghen, remains a black spot on the Judiciary and the Nigerian Bar. Indeed, I believe that it was a conspiracy between the former Federal Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the then President, Muhammadu Buhari, because they did not want Justice Walter Onoghen to be responsible for the nomination of Judges for the various Tribunals that will be set up after the 2019 Presidential election, whereby an ex-parte motion was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami SAN, at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onoghen. Still agitating in my mind is whether, under the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President can alone suspend a Chief Justice of Nigeria, or he can appoint an acting Chief Justice of Nigeria without the participation of the National Judicial Commission. Is it constitutional?”
“One of the easiest ways that the judges could be influenced is when some of these high-profile officials in government facing trials in the court freely meet with the CJN and other judges at parties, occasions, government functions, and other public gatherings. I repeat, one of my motivations for studying law was the respect and honour given to Judges and Lawyers, which they commanded and earned in society; they were indeed placed after God. Today, where is that honour and dignity? I’m not suggesting that the Judges should be isolated from society and other people. However, by the nature of their profession and calling, Judges should not communalize themselves. They ought to exercise discretion in the circles of people they make up with”.
“My Lord, we, the people of Nigeria, felt that our great country Nigeria will fail as a nation if the country is not restructured in order to know the country we all own together after the 1914 amalgamation by Lord Lugard, but in fact, the nation and Nigerians do not believe that miracle will happen in the Judiciary that will make it possible for a re-organization to be carried out in this very important arms of government. We as a country believe that with your appointment as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), a miracle will happen. Otherwise, there will be no arms of government known as the Judiciary. It is very necessary that we are all praying and supporting you that the ugly and bad situation in the Judiciary and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) will be arrested by your appointment”.
