From: Romanus Okoye

Two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief Olisa Agbakoba and Chief Mike

Ozekhome, have applauded the inauguration of a 13-man steering

committee on judiciary reform by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice

Walter Onnoghen, describing the development as ‘a step in the right

Direction’.

The committee was inaugurated last Friday.

While speaking with Daily Sun in an interview, Agbakoba, a former

President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) said, “the main thing is to

restore public confidence and overhaul the operating model of the

court to achieve utmost speed.”

On his part, while referring to the committee’s terms of reference,

Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Ozekhome, said, “The

terms are well thought out, very incisive, proactive and deliberate.”

He further stated that “The awful Condition of Service of serving

judicial officers is an eye sore and a ready recipe for corruption,

especially monetary corruption. It will take an angel to resist

monetary bribe when confronted with desperate politicians under the

present hardship suffered by judges.”

Ozekhome said that strengthening the National Judicial Institute is a

sine qua non in building a vibrant intellectual basis for judges and

other judicial officers; adding that the Bailiff/Sheriff section which

has always been lousy needs total overhauling.

“It is hoped this panel will redress this anomaly that has always

militated against the smooth administration of justice,” he said.

The 13-man committee headed by the Secretary of the National Judicial

Service Commission, Mrs. Bilkisu Bashir and an Assistant Director of

Administration in the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Mr. Royal Sunday

Issah, will serve as the Secretary of the committee was tasked “to

coordinate a comprehensive reform of the country’s judiciary”.

“Other members of the 13-member committee include Directors of

Administration from the Federal Judicial Service Commission, the

Supreme Court of Nigeria, the National Judicial Council, Federal High

Court, Court of Appeal, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of

Appeal, Federal Capital Territory High Court, National Industrial

Court and the President of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria,” the

statement added.

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Justice Onnoghen mandated the committee to call for memoranda from

former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Presidents of the Court of Appeal,

Chief Registrars, “and other stakeholders on the way forward”. The CJN

was quoted to have said while inaugurating the committee in

Abuja on Friday that there was a need for a holistic review of the

operations of the nation’s judiciary.

The CJN observed that the judiciary had been stagnated for years while

other arms of government continue to undergo reforms. “You will agree with me that over time, the Judiciary, due to its conservative nature, had stagnated in its operations while the other arms of government have continued to undergo reforms. “It is now more urgent than ever to undertake a holistic reform of the Judiciary”.

The committee’s terms of reference include “To carry out a

comprehensive analysis of the administrative structure and operations

of the three arms of the Government with a view to exploring areas of

comparative advantage and mutual cooperation.

“To undertake a comprehensive review of the operations and condition

of service of the Nigeria Judiciary with a view to enhancing general

efficiency and effectiveness.

“To recommend long and short-term measures that would help in the

general improvement of the welfare/condition of service of both

Judicial and non-Judicial Officers

“To call for memoranda from former CJNs, PCAs, CRs, and other

stakeholders on the way forward.

“To create a professional/management structure for the administration

of the Judiciary with  a “Head” well versed in Judicial

Administration.

“To create a professional Bailiffs and Sheriffs’/Judiciary Police Department.

“To propose a pooling policy and recommend a rule to empower the

Federal Judicial Service Commission to commence the operation of a

pooling system of Senior Officers within the Judiciary.

“To propose and recommend to the National Judicial Institute the

review of its training syllabus to include short term courses for

certification of Judiciary Personnel with a view of enhancing their

career development.

“To make any other recommendations that will help in repositioning the

Judiciary for optimal performance.”

The chairman of the committee, Mrs. Bilkisu Bashir, was said to have

pledged that the committee would leave no stone unturned to ensure

that its report “will make the country’s judiciary one of the best in

the world”.