Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has lamented that the Nigeria system of justice is under siege, with particular reference to the fight against corruption.
According to him, the vast majority of Nigerians are confused about the system of justice, especially in its response to the stealing of public resources.
“How, for example, does it take so long to prove in court that a man earning a civil servants salary has billions in his bank accounts? The gradual loss of confidence in our administration of justice system is a real threat to social cohesion.”
The acting President made these remarks today, Monday, when he spoke at the opening Session of the Golden Jubilee of the NIgerian Association of Law Teacher with theme- Law, Security and National Development held at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in , Anambra State.
“Our system of justice is clearly under siege; most of it is self-inflicted – delays by counsel, weak control of proceedings by courts, and corrupt practices, a subject which in and of itself is a matter of serious concern.”
On corruption, Professor Osinbajo said that almost daily, one hears on radio and read on social media how easy it is to jail a man who stole a goat or a phone within months and how difficult it is to prosecute a public officer who has stolen billions of public funds.”
He insisted that Nigerians should redefine the offence of corruption and the approach to its prosecution, “taking into account, its profoundly destructive impact on lives and property. Such an offence is worse than homicide; it is a crime against humanity. The approach of the trials must be time bound.”
Acting President Osinbajo said that many judicial systems more often than not, in serious cases part of the reason why bail is not easily granted is because the trials are time bound and usually not longer than six weeks. Dilatory tactics on the part of lawyers is sternly viewed, adjournments are usually not allowed or if so at great financial and professional cost to the lawyers on either side.
“Today, the most obvious cases of corruption are interminably delayed; indeed the strategy of many defence counsels is delay. In a recent UNODC study, about 43% of judicial officers surveyed reported that the main causes of excessive delay in our courts were “ploy by parties”, “requests for unnecessary adjournments” and “interlocutory applications to protract proceedings” and it was similarly found that most adjournments were caused by the absence of the accused, the defendant, their lawyers or of a witness.
“This suggests that the stakeholders in the justice sector are mostly responsible for the problem of delay in the administration of justice. The delays in our system of justice are becoming a source of derision of our trial system by judges in other jurisdictions.
“In 2014 for example, an English Court of Appeal decision- IPCO (Nigeria) Limited v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [2014] EWHC 576 (Comm), the Court ruled that a pending challenge in a Nigerian court to a US$340 million award should not be a bar to enforcement in London, because the Nigerian proceedings could take “up to a generation” to be resolved. The Court also described the Nigerian judicial system as being bedeviled by “catastrophic” delays.
“We, as law teachers, must ask ourselves whether our legal system can survive and serve its purposes to society without a serious and incisive rethink and reconsideration.
“So, how should the state react to our other security challenges, the Boko Haram terrorist activities in the North East, tensions in the Niger Delta, herdsmen and farmer clashes, and threats of secession and counter threats of forced excision. In addition are the overarching issues of poverty, unemployment and corruption.”
Professor Osinbajo wanted the leaders to recognize that a lot of these agitations center around the alleged failures of the state to create an inclusive society under existing constitutional arrangements, to guarantee the security of lives, livelihoods and liberties by the agencies charged with maintaining law and order and to build trust around the rule of law and the system of administration of justice.” [myad]
