Judiciary
A Lagos-based lawyer and rights campaigner, Mr Spurgeon Ataene, on Monday called on judicial officers and workers to live up to the high expectations of Nigerians in 2021 to take the judiciary to the next level.
Ataene spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He said that judges and magistrates should be more courageous in discharging their duties, adding that court registrars and support staff should be well-remunerated to curb corrupt tendencies.
Ataene said that judicial officers should be firm in their decisions, including those affecting institutions of governments.
According to the lawyer, decisions of all judicial officers must be based on equity and fairness.
“If the facts of a case reveal that an institution is wrong, judgment should be delivered against it no matter whose ox is gored.
“If the facts suggest that the institution is right, then judgment should be in its favour in spite of public opinion,” he advised.
Ataene called for establishment of a public relations department in the judiciary, with the duty to enlighten the populace on new laws and their enforcement.
He urged that the relationship between bar and bench should be strengthened.
“Whether you are a judge or not, seniority at the bar should not be eroded.
“Judges and magistrates should remember to reciprocate kind and humble gestures from lawyers who refer to them as my lords,” he said.
According to him, judges who have the penchant to award excessive costs against parties should refrain from that.
He said that the costs sent wrong signals to the masses, making them to lose faith in the judiciary.
On prison decongestion, Ataene said: “The prisons are almost bursting, and some magistrates and judges are partly responsible for this.
“Chief judge of each state should conduct assessment of correctional centres and find out magistrates and judges who make bail conditions onerous or deny bail defendants bail unnecessarily.
On corruption, Ataene cautioned that judicial officers should not abuse autonomy of the judiciary.
“Chief judges and chief registrars must not sit on allocations; they must equip the courts properly, build new ones and employ persons without favouritism.
“Attitudinal corruption can be curtailed by having secret assessors of courts,” he added.
NAN
– Jan. 18, 2021 @ 18:34 GMT |
Tags: 2021: Rights activist tasks judicial officers on efficiency
