Chief Judge of Kogi State, Nasiru Ajanah, has lamented corruption in the judiciary, saying that bad eggs had contaminated the whole judicial system, overwhelmingly.
Delivering a lecture, titled, “Maintaining A Strong Judiciary: Corruption as an Albatross” at 8th Justice J. Adesiyun Biennial Memorial Public Lecture, Nasiru said the development portends danger for the country.
“When the judiciary is corrupt, it facilitates corruption in other sectors of government and it transmits to the public that corruption is accepted,” he said.
He stated that corruption could undermine the integrity and credibility of the entire legal system, adding that court-related corruption was a significant source of institutional or systemic malfunction.
“A corrupt judiciary is prone to political manipulation and could be weak in terms of the protection of the fundamental human rights of ordinary citizens, especially the protection of rights that are of a civil and political character.
“This is because the enforcement of these rights is often directed against the state, particularly the political branches of government,” he said.
Nasiru attributed causes of corruption in the judiciary to lack of transparency, lack of judicial knowledge and poor supervision of courts’ staff.
He said lack of judicial knowledge of the substantive and procedural rules lead to attempts by lawyers and litigants to bend the rules, adding that court clerks and registrars were left on their own without strict supervision from Magistrates and Judges, pointing out that this encouraged people to flout administrative procedures in order to continue to benefit largesse from some lawyers who ‘tip’ them.
The judge, who acknowledged efforts the National Judicial Council (NJC) was making to rid the judiciary off bad eggs advocated fundamental reform of the judiciary to save it from the corruptive image it is being painted.
“Until the judiciary of Nigeria is able to purge itself of bad eggs; until a fundamental reform is effected, and there is a total overhaul of the system, the judiciary of Nigeria may continue to carry the burden of corruption as an albatross,” he stated.
