Conflicting Court Orders, Embarrassment To Judiciary, Says NBA

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Muhammad, has summoned six judges over conflicting orders issued in their courts. The CJN made the summons, requesting the judges to explain their recent conflicting court orders.

EkohotBlog reports that these actions got the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) fuming over politician’s efforts to ridicule the Nigerian judiciary and justice administration in the country, flaunting the country’s law as a cobweb the strongest wasp can bypass. The President of the Nigerian bar association, Olumide Apata has described the actions of the six chief judges as rubbishing the entire justice administration system in the country. Says politicians are experimenting with the Nigerian judiciary.

The NBA president in reaction through a statement also mentioned that he would seek an audience with the CJN to address the issue “holistically”.

He stressed that the Nigerian judiciary has made “invaluable contributions” to the development of the nation, while not denying that there have been past failings that “would hopefully remain permanently interred in the dark annals of history.”

Apata also stated in his statement that “It is in this regard that we view with concern the recurring contradictory decisions by our courts, based on the apparently indiscriminate grant of orders and counter-orders, in a way that evokes memories of those eerie and unwanted dark days.”

“We must of necessity reference the orders relating to the nomination of candidates by political parties for the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Anambra State and the equally embarrassing situation playing out in respect of the PDP leadership crisis that has seen three different contradictory rulings by courts of coordinate jurisdiction, in circumstances that leave a lot to be desired.

“These developments in our courts are antithetical to the actualization of the just society and independent judiciary that we all aspire to, and they run contrary to everything we teach and hold dear as a profession.

“Before blaming the judges, we must first look inwards and call out our members, most of whom are senior members of the Bar, who continue to yield themselves to be used as willing tools by politicians to wantonly abuse the judicial process.

“In our view, these actions contravene the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 (“RPC”) especially the cardinal Rule 1 of the RPC which requires a lawyer to uphold and observe the rule of law, promote and foster the cause of justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and not engage in any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner.”

He dubbed the NBA, as the major defender of the integrity and independence of the country’s judiciary, “will not be a spectator whilst our hard-earned democracy is threatened by the venal acts of a few”. NBA has vowed to step up and serve as the conscience of the nation’s justice administration system.

Tosin Ishowo