By Adadareporters
Nigerian judiciary needs rebuilding to make Nigerians have confidence in the system.
Dr Augustine Okolie, former Director, National Orientation Agency, Enugu State, stated this on Thursday in Enugu.
Okolie was reacting to the recent statement by some senior lawyers calling for the stoppage of accusations against Nigerian judiciary, especially as they partain to election matters.
Okolie said, “Nigerian judiciary is currently cash and carry. Time was when we recall good judgements with joy. The judiciary has battered themselves. I recall that during the military, the judiciary stood still, and defended the truth even when faced with guns. We remember those days with nolstagia. The judiciary need to rebuild themselves to regain people’s confidence. The fate we had in the judiciary is gone. You can see what is happening at election tribunals: no dissenting judgements.”
However, a former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Dr Ben Nwoye, said it was wrong to paint the entire judiciary bad.
Nwoye, a lawyer, said, “You can’t use one brush to paint all judges. Aside elections, the impact of judiciary is felt at customary courts, Magistrate’s Courts, High Courts, Appeal Courts and the Supreme Court. Rape cases, land matters, and all kinds of disputes are dispensed satisfactorily on a daily basis.
“Commentators should endeavour to read judgements before passing verdicts on judges. Law is not emotions. What we have today is that when judgements do not go your way, you tag judges something else.”
Nwoye however advised lawyers to advise their clients properly, especially when they have bad cases, and ‘should not make clients believe that they will win cases all the time’.
