A group known as the Justice Reform Project has described the
\n\u201cunceremonious removal\u201d of Walter Onnoghen, former chief justice of
\nNigeria (CJN), as a signal of a crisis in the administration of justice
\nin the country.<\/p>\n
Citing an order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), President
\nMuhammadu Buhari suspended Onnoghen over allegations of false
\ndeclaration of assets in January.<\/p>\n
Onngoghen, who was arraigned before the CCT on a six-count charge, was
\nconvicted but later resigned in April.<\/p>\n
In a letter dated June 21 and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari,
\nYemi Candide-Johnson, convener of Justice Reform Project, said
\nOnnoghen\u2019s trial led to the \u201ccollapse of confidence\u201d in the individuals
\nwho occupy judicial offices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis memorandum follows the public announcement that Mr. President has
\naccepted notice of retirement from the former Chief Justice, Justice
\nWalter Onnoghen, and your Excellency intends shortly to nominate an
\nadditional five justices to the nation\u2019s Supreme Court,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. President, there can be little contest that the absence of
\neffective self-regulating mechanisms for the legal profession has played
\na major role in the loss of confidence in the nation\u2019s judiciary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unceremonious removal of the nation\u2019s highest judicial officer was
\nthe clearest signal in recent times of a raging crisis in the
\nadministration of justice in Nigeria, and the collapse of confidence in
\nthe individuals who occupy highest judicial offices.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group also urged the president to ensure that only those who merit
\nit are appointed as judges of the apex court.<\/p>\n
It made reference to how Aloma Mukhtar, former chief justice of Nigeria,
\nlamented the prevalence of lobbying and favouritism in judicial
\nappointments at the cost of merit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe respectfully urge and make the following prayers of Mr. President:
\ninstruct the attorney-general of the federation to issue an opinion as
\nto the quality and character of candidates for high judicial office and
\nthe principles upon which the President will act in making such
\nappointment,\u201d the letter read.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria has long been a peculiar jurisdiction when it comes to the
\nappointment of Judges and Justices to superior courts of record. While
\nthe Constitution provides that an appointee to the highest judicial
\noffice must have no less than 15 years\u2019 experience post call to the Bar,
\nand must be a fit and proper person, this could not have been intended
\nto result in a lowering of judicial standards to the current extent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Constitutional prescription is only an entry qualification, and
\nthat in and of itself is incapable of producing a crop of Judges who are
\nequipped in character and intellect to occupy the highest judicial
\noffice in the land. Certainly, not every lawyer with 15 years of
\npractice experience and with an otherwise clean record is fit for the
\nSupreme Court even if he\/she is \u2018qualified\u2019. It is an office that
\ndemands to be occupied by persons of the highest character, and
\nintellectual capability.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Excellency is undoubtedly bound by the rules of law, and this you
\nhave expressed without hesitation. You are therefore committed to
\nrecognizing the independent, impartial, competent and effective
\njudiciary. It is imperative that Your Excellency circumvents the lapses
\nin the system in forwarding any fresh nomination that may perpetuate the
\nsame cycle that have brought us to this point in the first place. It is
\ncritical that only the most excellent and incorruptible minds are
\nappointed to the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cA successful judiciary is one whose members are appointed following a
\nrigorous process and adherence to criteria that assess both the
\ncandidate\u2019s legal qualifications as well as integrity (please see Annex
\n1 for a detailed illustration of such criteria). |t is crucial that only
\nthe best people are appointed to judicial positions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apart from Candide-Johnson, 33 other people signed the letter.<\/p>\n
A group known as the Justice Reform Project has described the \u201cunceremonious removal\u201d of Walter Onnoghen, former chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), as a signal of a crisis in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n