NJC not ready to curb corruption in judiciary - CACOL
- The crisis brought upon the Nigerian judiciary by corruption has continued to rage with many citizens expressing different opinions on how how best to tackle it
- The National Judicial Council just came up with a policy that bars public knowledge of petitions against erring judges
- This policy has may have further injured the attempt by the NJC to redeem its image brought about by the alleged corrupt judges as CACOL speaks
A new policy established by the National Judicial Council (NJC) concerning how best to handle petitions against judges may have created more controversies and condemnations.
The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) says the NJC is not prepared to curb corruption in the third arm of government that has now been riddled with scandals as the new policy is meant to try such erring judges in secret.
One of the items in the new judicial policy is the banning of a publication of any petition against a judge. The policy also reportedly shut out the media from assessing information about judges under investigation by the NJC.
The policy was given birth to following the humiliation suffered by some judges in the hands of operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) recently.
Reacting to the steps the NJC has taken thus far in either defending itself and its members, the executive chairman of CACOL said the body cannot be taken seriously as it is currently.
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"We are yet to take the NJC serious, especially when the seriousness required to be directed towards fighting corruption in the country as a whole and in particular, the judiciary is considered.
"This is given the grievous consequences of allowing corruption to fester in the arm of government regularly considered as the last hope of the people," Adeniran said in a statement to Legit.ng.
Concerning the new policy of the NJC, Adeniran said: “First of all, looking at the aspect of the policy that is clearly designed to gag the media and Nigerians at large, it betrays the dishonesty in the policy itself as an anti-democratic proposal that is extremely unconstitutional and disgraceful.
"For why would the judiciary choose to ‘kill’ the Freedom of Information Act on the pedestal of shielding corruption?
"It validates the allegations and asserts from the different quarters that the judiciary is well soaked in corruption.
"Those who commit offences in government institutions do so against the state and the country, hence, whatever petitions or allegations that are made should remain in the public eye as this would make sure that due processes are adhered to."
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To Adeniran, Nigerians must reject what CACOL thinks is as a ‘pro-corruption’ policy being proposed by the NJC.
CACOL said it was "disgraceful that a so sacred arm of government is angling to use every trick in the bag to shield suspected criminal judges when clearly the logical thing is to suspend them till their innocence is established.
"If the policy is allowed to operate, it would give access for so many irregularities to be perpetrated.
“The judiciary is established to protect the constitution; why will it now come up with a policy that strips the media and the generality of Nigerians of their rights to Freedom of Information which it ought to protect?
"Why is it now that the judiciary is saying it just procured the right to suspend erring judges after it suffered its self-earned public embarrassment?
"Transparency and accountability are basic ingredients of governance wherever true democratic ethos is imbibed and imbued, the judiciary should come out clean; subjective itself to lawful and constitutional provisions to clearly command the respect it deserves rather than this apparent hypocrisy.
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"The proposed ‘National Judicial Policy’ is anti-democratic; it will aid corrupt practices in the judiciary.”
Source: Legit.ng
