Legal experts have emerged from discussions on the Nigerian judiciary’s progress, advocating for the division of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) role.
The call was made in a statement issued on Tuesday after a conference with the theme: “Impact of Judicial Accountability on Public Trust in the Legal System”, organised by the TAP Initiative in collaboration with the Open Society Foundation.
Signatories to the statement included Jibrin Okutepa and Adamson Adeboro, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria, alongside Mbasekei Martin Obono, Esq and Victoria Benson.
They proposed that the CJN’s responsibilities regarding the National Judicial Council, Federal Judicial Service Commission, National Judicial Institute, and Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee should be separated.
The conference urged for continued dialogue on these matters, encouraging all Nigerians to express their opinions, while emphasising that calls for accountability should be seen as an opportunity for the judiciary to regain public trust.
Furthermore, the conference recommended enhancing the integrity standards for judge appointments and making the process more transparent.
It also advised strengthening the National Judicial Council’s (NJC) capacity to hold judicial officers accountable. While stating that the NJC’s code of ethics for judicial officers requires no revision, it stressed the importance of the CJN demonstrating political will to investigate and penalise misconduct by judges.
“The participants and discussants suggested that the conference should be held periodically to assess the state of accountability in Nigeria’s judiciary,” the statement concluded.
The conference also recommended the strengthening of the NJC to hold judicial officers accountable, that the code of ethics for judicial officers by the NJC needs no review but proper political will by the CJN to investigate and sanction erring judicial officers.
“The participants and discussants suggested that the conference should be made periodic to review the state of accountability in Nigeria’s judiciary,” the communique read.
