Fmr NBA President Agbakoba Says Judiciary Due For Reformation

By Ayodele Oni

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, (SAN), has advised that the remarks by the retired Justice Musa Dattijo Mohammed should form the basis for reform of the Judiciary.

Agbakoba is of the view that the remarks were not targeted at the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, as corruption the retired Justice made mention of, has been embedded at the apex court for so long.

According to him, the judiciary remains the most undemocratic arm of government.

Agbakoba stated this while reacting to the speech of retired Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad at his valedictory session held last week Friday in Abuja.

In an interview on Arise News Agbakoba said the National Judicial Council (NJC) needs to take note of the points that were raised by Justice Dattijo in order to address the decay in Nigeria’s judicial system.

Agbakoba also emphasized that Dattijo’s speech rather than impugning the character of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, it should be used to address inconsistencies of the office in itself.

The former NBA Chairman stated that the corruption that Dattijo mentioned in his speech was also mentioned by Justice Samson Uwaifo in his valedictory speech in 2004, and as such, this had been a long-standing issue.

“I think what lessons we should draw from what Justice Dattijo had said is to implement a report that was put together by the, in my view, perhaps the most reformist CJN in Nigeria, that is, the late Justice Dahiru Mustapha. If this report is implemented, it will take care of all the issues.

“Of the three arms of government- the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, the most undemocratic is actually the judiciary, so that’s where the problem is.

“So, what I would recommend to the current NJC is to have a very good look at the report, update it, and absolutely remove the powers of the CJN to be everywhere.

“The difference between a judge of the high court and the CJN is like God in heaven and somebody on earth. We need to really really take the opportunity of the lesson I think Dattijo Muhammed’s valedictory- which has been the most candid- has given us.

“It’s to understand where we are in the judiciary, and if we want to reverse judicial failure, then the current NJC must implement it.

“The problem with judges is that they have no clue as to judicial administration versus administration of justice.”

“Public opinion of the judiciary is at its lowest ebb, and I think that this is something that the judiciary ought to take very seriously. They ought to take the points made by Justice Dattijo Mohammed extremely seriously.”