The Last Resort of The Common Man : Nigerians Keep Hope Alive On The Judiciary

The Justice Kayode Esho panel report on the Judiciary of 1994, indicted several Judges in Nigeria for wrongdoing.
 Although the report recommended most of the Judges, including Justice N.S.N Onnogben, then a Judge of the Appeal court , Calabar, Cross River state, for retirement/dismissal, the Judicial review panel headed by Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin gave most of them and Justice Onnogben a clean bill of health, thereby nullifying the recommendations of the Justice Esho panel.

 Justice Onnogben was a high court Judge, when the recommendation was made, but was however, promoted to a Judge of the Appeal court.
 Again, the Justice Babalakin panel reversed the recommendation by the Justice Esho panel that Justice E.I.D Emeordi of the Delta state Judiciary be dismissed.

 This reversal did not go down well with the Delta state government, which eventually retired Justice Emeordi and Justice G.O Akoro. While justifying his retirement, the then Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Amos Utuama had said ''The Judges were tried by the NJC.

Recommendations were made to Government and based on the recommendations the Judges were duly retired. That was rule of law at work''. Is the rule of law at work today, in Nigeria's Judiciary ? The answer could be seen in happenings in the court rooms all over the land.

 Indeed, Nigerians hailed the decision of the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, when he decided to implement the recommendations of the Justice Esho panel on the Judiciary.

 The Justice Babalakin review panel had invited all serving Judges that were indicted by the Justice Esho panel and whom it had jurisdiction to deal with.

The panel heard and considered their defenses. Out of 14 of them, eight were given a clean bill of health and their indictment overturned. Of course, a transparent cleansing of the Judiciary would improve its functionality.

As the rot eats deep, with other category of staff in the Judicial system playing a major role, there is also increase in the number of corrupt lawyers. In an interview with a weekly publication, in 2002, human rights activist and Lawyer, Femi Falana(SAN) had said '' A Judge was recently identified in Lagos, for granting bail to some convicted persons, who had been tried and jailed under Federal offenses.

 Indeed, they all appealed. It took two to tango, the lawyer who filed the application before that Judge knew all the facts of that case, at the end of the day the Judge was removed and nothing happened to the lawyer, he would continue such atrocities.

So the business of purging the Judiciary of bad blood, the role of the Lawyers has to be seriously examined, otherwise we are not going to get to the root of the mess''.

 Of worry, is the fact that the 'mess' has made most Nigerians to view the Judiciary as unpredictable and unreliable.

 Several years after nothing has changed in the nation's Judiciary. The Judicial system requires a total overhaul, which can only be done after a massive purge of corrupt officials. Can this be achieved in this era of change ? Nigerians have great hopes and expectations.