President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the judiciary to remain impartial in the fight against corruption in the country.
The President made this known on Monday while declaring open an international workshop on Criminal Justice Administration, Development and ACJA 2015 held at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja.
Buhari stated that the Judiciary must take steps to ensure that it is not seen as being partisan and as such, must be aware of the sensitivities of the public and take steps towards avoiding even the shred of a doubt as regards its independence.
He said in justice, integrity is a necessity. Hence, Judicial Officers and all other members of this sector must always demonstrate manifest integrity.
He declared that critically important also, is the sacred duty of the judiciary to ensure that criminal justice administration is not delayed.
“I am worried that the expectation of the public is yet to be met by the judiciary with regard to the removal of delay and the toleration of delay tactics by lawyers. When cases are not concluded the negative impression is given that crime pays.
“So far, the corruption cases filed by government are not progressing as speedily as they should in spite of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 essentially because the courts allow some lawyers to frustrate the reforms introduced by law.
“This certainly needs to change if we are to make success in our collective effort in the fight against corruption,” he opined.
He further stated that, “As we are all aware, I have made the fight against corruption one of the top priorities of my administration in the hope of restoring the economy and build a new Nigeria. In the face of dwindling revenues and in a bid at repositioning Nigeria’s economy, it became obligatory to swiftly tackle two ills; waste and corruption.
“The eradication of corruption is a joint task involving not only judges and members of the legal profession, but literally all stakeholders, including all branches of Government, the media and the civil society.
“The challenge is to come up with an integrated approach that balances process and substance, promote clarity to ensure a coherent and realistic formulation of objectives.
“To this end, the Judiciary is under a duty to keep its house in order and to ensure that the public, which it serves, sees this. Thus, we cannot expect to make any gains in the war against corruption in our society when the judiciary is seen as being distant from the crusade. This will not augur well and its negative effect will impact all sectors of society.
“The judiciary must fight delay of cases in court as well as it fights corruption in its own ranks, perceived or otherwise. We expect to see less tolerance to delay tactics used by defense lawyers or even the prosecution in taking cases to conclusion.
“Let me conclude by saying the future of anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria rests not only on well-functioning, preventive systems, but also an effective sanctions and enforcement regime in accordance with the laws. WE count on the judiciary to assist in this regard.
“On our part, we are committed to promoting and supporting the judiciary to achieve a judicial system that is well staffed, well-resourced and that promotes and recognizes dedicated, committed and motivated Judges. The Judiciary can count on me for this so that together we can rid our nation of the cancer of corruption.
Present at the event were Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed; Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay; Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; President Commonwealth Judges and Magistrate Association, Justice John Vertes; Administrator National Judicial Institute, Justice RPI Bozimo; and many others.
