Lawyers hopeful of speedy justice delivery in new era

Lawyers are expectant of a reformed and independent judiciary in the current democratic government, ONOZURE DANIA writes

A new administration emerged on May 29 as Bola Tinubu was inaugurated as President, succeeding former President Muhammadu Buhari who governed the country for eight years.

During his tenure, the judiciary witnessed blatant disobedience to court orders among other issues. With the coming of Tinubu, lawyers have urged for a change in the pattern of events.

Speaking on his expectation in the new administration, A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Wahab Shittu, said he expected a judiciary with maximum respect for the rule of law.

He added that he envisaged a judiciary where stakeholders, particularly lawyers and judges, would be jurists obsessed with the theory of justice rather than adherence to technicalities.

According to him, he expects a judiciary with zero tolerance for corruption and delays in the administration and dispensation of justice.

Shittu stated, “I want a reform-oriented, courageous, and disciplined judiciary that will uphold high ethical standards in all spheres. A judiciary that will hold governments at all levels accountable and promote responsibility in governance.

“I want a judiciary that will strengthen the principles of separation of powers and deepen democratic standards and principles; a judiciary that will promote respect for fundamental rights, respect for due process, transparency and support democratic institutions. A Judiciary that will restore public confidence in the justice delivery system as well as promote decent criminal and civil litigation. I want a judiciary that is comparable in standards to the best in the world.’’

On his part, Chairman, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Nigeria branch, Mr Akingbola Akinola, SAN, said to a great extent, the judiciary in Nigeria had been most stable, adding that with the advent of the new government, he expected that the judiciary would be more stable. He further said that this was because it’s a transition from one democratic government into another so there was no distortion and things would only be improved.

He stated that the main problem the judiciary has was associated with its dockets, adding that it had many cases to handle and it was why arbitration was there to assist.

He also said that because there were many dispute resolutions, the institute and its members could handle them without necessarily going to the court because several small claims were often taken to the court.

Akinola explained that everybody believed that they have a right to the court, saying that it was true as stipulated in Section 6 of the Constitution which guarantees the rights of everybody to access the courtroom.

He said, “So they have a right to go to the courtroom. But the truth is that it is not every dispute that should get to the courtroom. The institute is there to lend a hand to the judiciary.

“As I said earlier I believe the judiciary will be more stable again. I believe because they have been saying the independence of the judiciary has a lot to do in ensuring that their budget and grants are controlled directly by them and they won’t need to be running, cap in hand to the executive. As long as this is sorted out, I think the best has yet to come from the Nigerian judiciary.’’

Another lawyer, Yemi Omodele, stated that President Bola Tinubu, had been in politics before his predecessor came into it, stating that therefore, Nigerians expected a lot from him in terms of economic growth, security, agriculture, judiciary, medicine, science, and technology among others. Omodele said that Tinubu should not create a bad impression in the minds of Nigerians.

“It will do Nigeria more good if he can build more divisions of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal. He should also encourage the state governors to do the same by establishing more state high courts in states.

“This will go a long way in quick dispensation of justice. The idea of strike actions in the judiciary should be discouraged by his government. He is a beneficiary of justice. He should do the needful for the said arm of government.

“The welfare and salaries of the judicial workers and other members of staff will be increased. The issue of judicial autonomy should be looked into. He should work peacefully with the National Assembly to have a smooth running of his administration. He should invest more in legal education. He should learn from the mistakes of Buhari,” Omodele said.

Similarly, Mr Ige Asemudara, said the judiciary should brace up and stand up to its responsibilities in the new administration by providing checks and balances the way it should be provided in a democracy.

The lawyer said, “The judiciary is to dispense justice without fear or favour and we would not expect anything less in this administration across all facets in all manner and shades of cases and disputes that will come before them. The judiciary is expected to stand tall and dispense justice accordingly. The judiciary should be the watchdog of the system, checking both the excess of the executive and the legislature.’

In his contribution, another lawyer, Mr Adenrele Adegborioye, stated that with the emergence of a new government, there were high expectations from the judiciary.

He said the new government had a duty to ensure the independence of the judiciary, noting that without the judiciary being independent it would be ineffective and powerless.

Adegborioye said, “One of the ways to ensure the independence of the judiciary is for the significant improvement in the welfare of the judges so that they can resist the temptation of financial inducement. 

He added, “Another way is if the executive does not unnecessarily interfere with the activities of the judiciary. Furthermore, the appointment of judges should be transparent and strictly on merit. It is my opinion that if the above conditions are met by the new administration, we should be ready for a new dawn in the judiciary.’’

For Mr Babatunde Awe, he noted that the inauguration speech of the President didn’t make any significant mention of plans for the judiciary other than he would continue the legacies of his predecessor.

According to the lawyer, if one uses the antecedents of the President and legacy in the Lagos State judiciary, there may be hope that the appalling condition under which judges work in Nigeria will improve.

He said, “I expect that President Tinubu will focus on accelerating digitalisation of the justice system to increase efficiency and improve the welfare of judges.

“Judges do not work alone. There is a whole value chain of the judiciary’s service corps that must also be properly integrated into any reformation and redesign process to increase the efficiency of justice delivery. I sincerely do hope that within the next few days, we shall have a state of emergency declared in the judiciary.’’