BEVERLY HILLS, September 18, (THEWILL) – The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has ordered all the Heads of Courts to designate at least one court in their various jurisdictions as Special Courts, solely for the purpose of hearing and speedily determining corruption and financial crime cases.
Onnoghen gave the directiveon Mondayduring a special court session at the Supreme Court to mark the opening of the 2017/2018 legal year as he directed the Heads of Courts to compile and forward to the National Judicial Council (NJC) a comprehensive list of all corruption and financial crime cases being handled by their various courts.
The CJN noted that inexplicable and seemingly intractable delays has been the bane of criminal justice administration in the country saying such delays results in the unfortunate disruption of due process.
He declared that where such cases proceeded on appeal to either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, special dates on each week should be fixed, solely for hearing and determining such appeals.
Onnoghen also gave all Heads of Courts the permission to clampdown on both Prosecution and Defence Counsel who deploy delay tactics to stall criminal trials such counsels should reported to the NJC, which in turn, would transmit them to the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), in the case of SANs, and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), in the case of other legal practitioners.
He revealed that the NJC, would at its next meeting, constitute an Anti-Corruption Cases Trial Monitoring Committee that will continually monitor the progress of high-profile criminal cases.
“This committee would be saddled with, among other things, the responsibility of ensuring that both Trial and Appellate Courts handling corruption and financial crime cases key into and abide by our renewed efforts at ridding our Country of the canker worm,” he stated.
“We must not lose sight of the indispensable role of the judiciary in the fight against corruption. Corruption continues to place the judiciary in the eye of the storm, but, we cannot allow that to deter us or weaken our resolve.
“It is regrettable that the image of the Judiciary has been tarnished by the notion that the Nigerian Judiciary is bedevilled by corrupt elements, hence the need for an image building parade.
“We must accept that acts of misconduct of a few rub off on the rest of the judiciary and create the impression that all judicial officers have their hands soiled with the proceeds of corruption.
“Let me be clear here; it is not going to be business as usual for the few unscrupulous elements in our midst. I am determined to redeem the unfairly battered image of the judiciary.
“Any Judicial Officer found wanting would be dealt with decisively, and shown the way out swiftly. It is therefore for this reason that the independence of the judiciary must be entrenched if we are to hold the trust and confidence of the citizens of Nigeria.
“We, in the judiciary are fully aware and in fact worried by concerns expressed by members of the public on the very slow speed with which corruption cases in particular are being heard or determined by our Courts.
“Although the Administration of Criminal Justice Act contains many commendable provisions aimed at speeding up the process of criminal prosecution generally, it is clear that we still need to employ more strategies to support and strengthen this law in fast tracking the criminal justice system.
“We shall reform, strengthen and continue to work with the National Judicial Council, and with the support of the public rid the Judiciary of both perceived and real corruption.
“I encourage members of the public to cut off the supply side of corruption by stopping the offering of bribes to judicial officers. The full weight of the law will be visited on all those who are caught in this nefarious activity that is capable of eroding integrity and confidence in the judiciary.
“Finally on this issue, I wish to appeal to litigants, advocates and the public to refrain from making unsubstantiated and malicious allegations/complaints against judicial officers.
“Unsubstantiated and unfair complaints against judicial officers are a threat to justice and judicial independence as much as the act of corruption itself because of the atmosphere of intimidation, fear and erosion of confidence it may engender.
“Some judicial officers may fear to make decisions against certain litigants or lawyers for fear of enlisting malicious complaints. Aggrieved parties should only make complaints where judicial officers have violated the Judicial Code of Conduct or abused their exalted office.
“We are under no illusion that the fight against corruption would be an easy one, as we are already aware that when you fight corruption, corruption fights back; but we are determined to win it. We require all hands to be on deck to fight this monster.”
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