A civil society organisation (CSO), Yiaga Africa, has called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to purge the judiciary of those undermining it through conflicting judgments.
Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Mr Samson Itodo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Itodo described conflicting judgments from the courts as clear cases of judicial misconduct on the part of the judicial officers.
“In law, there’s what is called the doctrine of stare decisis (to stand by things decided), the doctrine of judicial precedents.
“Once a precedent has been set, every other judge is bound by that particular precedent, especially when it is set by the Supreme Court.
‘`But in a situation whereby the Supreme Court itself decides to deviate from its own long-standing position on issues, what do you expect the lower courts?
“So the judiciary itself has to be blamed for some of these misdemeanours that we see within the politics and our judiciary. It’s really time for deep introspection.
“I can recall 20 years ago, as a law student, this kind of situation was not much of an issue because we clearly saw decisions taken from our courts.
“We derived joy listening and reading the legal reasoning of the likes of Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and Justice Kayode Esho,” Itodo said.
He noted with concerns that this was no longer the case, as reports of corruption in the judiciary now flooded the newspapers because the judiciary has allowed itself to be captured by political actors.
“In spite of all these however, there are still judges in the Supreme Court, Federal High Court, Court of Appeal, who have integrity and impeccable characters. The only issue is that they are not amplified and celebrated.
“This is where the CJN has a critical role to play in celebrating the good ones, while purging the judiciary of the bad elements undermining the integrity of our judiciary,” he said.
The executive director recalled that decades ago, Nigerians on the streets saw the judiciary as the bastion of hope for the common man, adding, however, that this was no longer the case. (NAN)
