The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, last week listed corruption, inefficiency and undue influence as some of the ills afflicting the judiciary in the country. “We must critically examine our legal framework, identifying gaps and inconsistencies that hinder the efficient administration of justice,” Ariwoola said at a two-day national summit on justice. “Moreover, we must be bold in our pursuit of legislative reforms that reflect the evolving needs of our society while upholding the principles of fairness, equality, and human rights.” According to Ariwoola, a “constitutional, statutory and operational reform in the justice sector is imperative in meeting the aspirations and yearnings of the general public.”

In his presentation, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said that the summit should not be another talking forum but a call to action. Citing some recent cases to buttress his point, Akpabio called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to stop judges from abusing ex parte orders, especially in political cases. He also called for prompt and decisive punishment for erring judges found to be involved in this abuse. “We further propose that the NJC establish clear and detailed standards governing the issuance of ex parte orders, accompanied by a defined set of sanctions for violations,” said Akpabio. “These sanctions should be severe enough to deter people from future abuses.” The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called for a reform of the NJC itself. The body is statutorily headed by the CJN who also chairs the Federal Judicial Service Commission. The “inherent flaws in the composition of the NJC”, according to the NBA, “impacts negatively on its ability to prosecute judicial misconduct in a manner that inspires public confidence.” But the expectation that the CJN, who also doubles as the chairman of the NJC statutorily saddled with the responsibility for appointment, promotion and discipline of judges, will initiate the necessary reforms seems misplaced. The current CJN appears uninterested even when there are several reports with which he can institute the reform.

We recently commended the decision by President Bola Tinubu to increase the salaries of judicial officers in the country. But we also added that it is not a silver bullet to the challenge of justice administration in Nigeria which requires a wholesale reform, beginning with the criteria for appointment to the bench. From Customary to the Supreme Court, appointment of Judges is now fraught with controversies and allegations of impropriety. No one should expect a positive delivery from a bench that is populated by judges who got the job because of their filial affiliation. No one should expect a judiciary where senior judges lower the criteria for appointment to make it easier for their sons and daughters to be appointed as judicial officers to perform better.

In October 2020, then Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, joined the list of those advocating reform of judicial appointments. “If we leave it to the system that is going on at the moment; we are clearly headed in the wrong direction because interest whether the private, political or group influences how judges are appointed”, he said even though the administration he served did nothing about the issue. “We must agree to an objective process to rigorously examine, test and interview all of those who want to come forward as judges.” Osinbajo’s words were reechoed last year by Justice Adamu Dattijo. “Appointments should not be polluted by political, selfish, and sectional interests. The place of merit, it must be urged, cannot be over-emphasized,” Dattijo said at his valedictory from the Supreme Court.

Perhaps because those in leadership positions are themselves beneficiaries of the same skewed appointment process, nobody wants to rock the boat. But there is an urgent need for a reform of the justice sector in Nigeria.

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