Questionable judgements: CJN threatens to fire judges

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Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, yesterday, declared that the days of judges writing questionable judgements are numbered on the bench, saying the National Judicial Council, NJC, will begin to wield its big stick against judges caught in such misconduct.
Mukhtar gave the warning in Abuja, while declaring open a refresher course on judgement writing and delivery organised by the National Judicial Institute, NJI, for judicial officers nationwide.
The CJN, identified delivery of questionable judgements by some judges as one of the major reasons why public confidence in the nation’s judiciary is waning. The CJN, who applauded the NJI on the choice of the course theme, however appealed to judges to henceforth ensure that their judgements are not only fair but also clear and unambiguous.
Her words: “The theme of this course to wit: Towards a culture of better judgement writing and judgement delivery is both timely and of immense relevance. The theme is apt in that it goes to the very fabric of the work of a judge.
The work of a judge is simply put adjudication, which is adequately encapsulated in judgement writing and delivery. Judgements should be written in a manner and language not just with counsel in the matter alone in mind. “A judge should write judgement in a simple and unambiguous manner such that it leaves no one in doubt as to what the judgement has addressed.
A judgement should meet the justice of the matter or controversies between the contending parties. It is certainly not good for a judgement to be capable of more than one interpretation otherwise the judge would have caused more problem than the reason for his being called upon to intervene in the first place. “I concede that as judges, we are accorded some semblance of discretion particularly in criminal cases.
I must however hasten to add that the exercise of any discretion in adjudication must be judicially, judiciously and reasonably exercised. A judge must certainly not put himself in a position where the exercise of his discretion is deemed to be unreasonable in the estimation and assessment of a reasonable member of the society.
“Of course, a public uproar or placard carrying scenario against the judgments of a court of record is not to the credit of the judiciary as an arm of government. I have heard the aphorism a couple of times that in the court, ‘the rich get bail while the poor get jailed.’
To what extent have we as judges turned justice as within the reach of the highest bidder? “Where therefore a judge is found to be complicity in the writing and delivery of a judgment, the NJC as constitutional regulatory body will not hesitate to wield the big stick.
But beyond the intervention of the NJC, I urge you all to remember at all times that you are representatives of God in your courts, that as you sit in judgement over others, you are also standing judgement and that one day, we shall all stand before God to be judged,” she added.
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, who also graced the event, however complained that his commission has a long list of corruption cases suffering undue delay before various courts.
Nta, who commended the nation’s judiciary of doing well in the discharge of its functions within the limits of available infrastructure and working tools, however said that the judiciary would need to quickly evolve a workable strategy to tackle the menace of delayed justice in the country.
“My Lords, we believe that the trial of corruption cases needs to be readdressed very urgently because undue delay demoralises anti-graft agencies, encourages impunity in the polity especially by persons with chronic corruption tendencies and erodes public confidence. It also opens the court to public criticisms,” he said.
Nta said he was aware as a legal practitioner that much of the delays in criminal trials are caused by external factors other than judges. He, however, said there was need for reappraisal of their practice and procedure in the handling of cases pending before them to improve the image of the judiciary.
The NJI Administrator, Justice Umaru Eri, himself reminded the judges of the confidence the society repose in them about the discharge of their sacred duties, saying “the judgement we write and deliver deals with the tension between the desire for people to take justice into their hands, exact revenge in self-help as opposed to the processes of the law, which in my opinion is determined by fair trial and fair judgement.”