on SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 · in NEWS
The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday, insisted that the root cause for the Boko Haram menace was the inability of the judiciary to provide authentic, credible and realistic justice to Nigerians.
The association in an address it presented before the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher in Abuja, equally maintained that, “there is a growing perception backed up by empirical evidence that justice is purchasable and it has been purchased on several occasions in Nigeria”, adding that “no wonder why assassination, unresolved killings and terrorism are on the rise.”
While tasking the new CJN to redeem the battered image of the judiciary with a view to regaining the confidence of Nigerians on its integrity, the NBA, observed that Justice Musdapher, took over the mantle of leadership of the judicial sector, “at a time when the credibility and image of the justice delivery system has been severely dented.”
Reading the speech at a special court session held at the Supreme Court yesterday to herald a fresh legal year, the National President of the NBA, Chief Joseph Daudu, SAN, said the legal body would soon submit to the CJN, a comprehensive blueprint on the way ahead for the justice sector in Nigeria, adding that “the attainment of justice in its purest and undiluted form is what humanity and the good people of Nigeria demand and deserve.”
He said: “If for any reason, any sector of the justice delivery system is found wanting, then, urgent steps must be taken to redress the problem, where the reforms or restorative steps are successful, history and posterity will not forget whoever the leader of the reform process is.
“The events that led us to this point are known to all. Leaving the issues that are sub-judice, there are question marks on the ability of the judicial system to deliver justice rooted in the universal principles of the Rule of Law and constitutionalism.
“Several factors of which the most dominant is corruption have been identified as the bane of progress in the Nigerian judicial system. It is clear that all is not well.
“We are however of the view that your lordship must be given a clear unhindered opportunity to, at least, lay the foundation for change and reform.”
“That your lordship has until July next year to engineer this transformation is not a disadvantage but is indeed a positive sign. The advantage is that a reform agenda that has progressed beyond the stage of conceptualisation confronts your lordship.
“The judiciary is not only the last hope of the common man: it is the only hope of all men and women, rich or poor who are bound by a common destiny. Modern democratic society as we know it today will cease to exist where confidence is lost in the justice system. No one wants to return to those dark days of autocracy and dictatorship.”
SOURCE: Vanguard Newspaper, September 2011. http://www.vanguardngr.com
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