Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has accused Judges and lawyers of<\/p>\n
killing his war against corruption by using all manner of tactics to
\neither delay or free suspects.<\/p>\n
Voicing his disappointment at the way the judiciary and lawyers approach
\nhis avowed fight against corruption in the country, Buhari challenged them
\nto remove all cogs in the wheel and swiftly prosecute offenders.<\/p>\n
In his words: “I am worried that the expectation of the public is yet to
\nbe met by the judiciary with regard to the removal of delay and the
\ntoleration of delay tactics by lawyers.”<\/p>\n
President Buhari at an International Workshop On The Role Of The Judiciary
\nIn The Fight Against Corruption, July 18, 2016 At The National Judicial
\nInstitute, Abuja, called on all stake holders to join him in the fight
\nagainst corruption.<\/p>\n
Buhari who called the participants “stakeholders in this national fight
\nagainst corruption in Nigeria” stated that it is critically important that
\nthe sacred duty of the judiciary to ensure that criminal justice
\nadministration is not delayed.<\/p>\n
“When cases are not concluded the negative impression is given that crime
\npays. So far, the corruption cases filed by government are not progressing
\nas speedily as they should in spite of the Administration of Criminal
\nJustice Act of 2015 essentially because the courts allow some lawyers to
\nfrustrate the reforms introduced by law. This certainly needs to change if
\nwe are to make success in our collective effort in the fight against
\ncorruption.”<\/p>\n
President Buhari stated that he has “made the fight against corruption one
\nof the top priorities of my administration in the hope of restoring the
\neconomy and build a new Nigeria. In the face of dwindling revenues and in
\na bid at repositioning \u200eNigeria\u2019s economy, it became obligatory to swiftly
\ntackle two ills; waste and corruption.”<\/p>\n
“The eradication of corruption is a joint task involving not only judges
\nand members of the legal profession, but literally all stakeholders,
\nincluding all branches of Government, the media and the civil society. The
\nchallenge is to come up with an integrated approach that balances process
\nand substance, promote clarity to ensure a coherent and realistic
\nformulation of objectives.<\/p>\n
“To this end, the Judiciary is under a duty to keep its house in order and
\nto ensure that the public, which it serves, sees this. Thus, we cannot
\nexpect to make any gains in the war against corruption in our society when
\nthe judiciary is seen as being distant from the crusade. This will not
\naugur well and its negative effect will impact all sectors of society. The
\njudiciary must fight delay of cases in court as well as it fights
\ncorruption in its own ranks, perceived or otherwise. We expect to see less
\ntolerance to delay tactics used by defense lawyers or even the prosecution
\nin taking cases to conclusion.”<\/p>\n
President Buhari commended the Presidential Advisory Committee Against
\nCorruption, the National Judicial Institute, the United Nation\u2019s Office on
\nDrugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Commonwealth Secretariat for conceiving
\n“such an important and timely workshop and making it happen”.<\/p>\n
He stated that the “workshop is important and timely not only because
\nfar-reaching reforms of the judiciary remains one of the key priorities of
\nthis administration but also because it offers us a unique opportunity to
\ninteract and agree on the basic tenets and guiding principles that will
\nmake our efforts acceptable to all right thinking people.”<\/p>\n
While recognizing the efforts of the judiciary\u2019s fight against corruption,
\nBuhari however stated that, “the responsibility of the judiciary in a
\ndemocratic society such as ours is a critical one. It is one of the three
\npillars of the modern democratic nation state and is essential to the
\nprocess of checks and balances, which is so fundamental to the way
\nsocieties such as ours are meant to operate and function. This apparent
\nfunction that the Judiciary plays is undeniably one of the cornerstones of
\nany effective strategy against corruption.”<\/p>\n
He admitted “that corruption is a global phenomenon occurring in almost
\nall countries in the world”, but “the problem is much more pronounced in
\nsome countries than others but more complicated in developing countries.
\nIt has now become clear that corruption is one of the main obstacles to
\npeace, stability, sustainable development, democracy, and human rights
\naround the globe.”<\/p>\n
“A corrupt judicial system not only violates the basic right to equality
\nbefore the law but also deny procedural rights guaranteed by the Nigerian
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
“Where judicial corruption occurs, the damage can be pervasive and
\nextremely difficult to reverse. It undermines citizens\u2019 morale, violates
\ntheir human rights, harms national development and depletes the quality of
\ngovernance”, Buhari stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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