By Innocent Anaba, Abdulwahab  Abdulah and Ikechukwu Nnochiri
The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, last week started another controversy, when it said, at the inauguration of its committees in Abuja, that “the present NJC (National Judicial Council) records over the past seven  years, only 20% of Judges are ranked as average or fairly good. The rest are simply not pulling their weight. These assessments are from empirical records.”
This clearly place 80% of judges in the country below average and of serious concern to any discerning  mind. It is actually a serious matter to the ordinary Nigerian, if he or she is made to believe by the NBA, who quoted an NJC report, that eight in every 10 judges, before whom all manner of matters are brought for determination, are indeed below average and perhaps not fit for the job.

If the report is true, then it is also an indictment on the legal profession generally, because it is from the pool of practising lawyers, be them those in private practice, the various government agencies and the court itself,  that judges are appointment.

Nigerian Bar Association, NBA

If a lawyer is up and doing in his practice, he or she will certainly be a good judge, but if he or she is below average, certainly, no magic will improve him, after all, it is argued that you cant give what you don’t have. It also suggests that 80% of lawyers in Nigeria today are below average, at least  in the last seven years, since that was the conclusion of the said NJC report, because it is the lawyers that end up at judges.

Even though some people may not be too surprised by this revelation, being that they are close to the system, many more ordinary Nigerians would be. The implications  are just too many for one to ignore the report.

But with the way judges are appointed and manner of people appointed to the bench, one may not after all be too surprised. On the appointment of judges, which is one sure way this trend could be checked, retiring judge of the Federal High Court, Justice  Akinjide Ajakaiye, speaking at a valedictory court session in  his honour in Lagos, during the week, organised by the leadership of the Federal High Court, said “for the judiciary to be able to play the sacred role assigned to it very well, it must ensure that both the appointors and appointees to the bench are men of proven honour and integrity and most importantly those who have fear of God in them.

“Appointments should not based on sentiments, political considerations, neither should it be at the whims and caprices of the appointing authorities. Merit should no longer be sacrificed for mediocrity,” he added.

Justice Tajudeen Odunowo, another retired judge of the Federal High Court, had recently expressed the same concern, when he said “before independence, you don’t lobby to made a judge. But when we took over, I mean we Nigerians, people started going through the politicians to be made a judge. We have a lot of instances of people who are not suppose to be there, who are there.”

With this disturbing revelation, Vanguard Law and Human Rights spoke to some Nigerians, mostly lawyers on their reaction.

Mr Tony Ubani, a journalist, said “It is strange and a shame.  If indeed it is true, that means that we are wallowing in danger. We are hapless. It is a reflection of the dropping standard in many sectors. We are at the mercy of God if those who should know, but don’t. Half education, they say, is dangerous. And there is no how such half-baked person can follow argument and dispense justice well. There should be a thorough investigation and cleansing of those found wanting as they remain the last hope of the common masses.”
Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, said

“I know and quite believe that the Bar association will not come out with such verdict without carrying out adequate investigations. I believe they are right in coming out with the verdict that some of the Nigerian judges are below expected standard. The only thing I disagreed with is that they didn’t say only about 20 % of the judges are above standard. The impact or importance of such verdict on the Bench is that it gives room for the judiciary to access itself and make them to sit up and adjust to the reality of the time.

The report will also draw their attention to the fact that some people are watching them. Though, we cannot generalise the  non performance. The reason being that, not all of them are corrupt or  are found not to be sound.

Mr Emeka Etiaba, a lawyer, said
“I know the Bar is not happy with the level of performance and corruption in the judiciary, that is why they came out with such report.  The report is a wake up call rather than a condemnation. We must also known and realised that the judges are also part of the corrupt larger society.

However, I have to commend the Bench over their recent courageous verdicts on some electoral cases. They have demonstrated their bravery and show that the judiciary is still the bastion of hope for the common man.

The impact of the Bar verdict is that it will make the Bench sit up. I always believe that things will change for the better, after all, it is not that the judiciary is not doing well at all.

Mr Wale Lanre-Ojo, former CPS to former Governor Segun Oni
The report of the NBA may not rightly be for the lower Bench. The problem is at the Court of Appeal. It is at this level where they call justice an injustice. If you want to know this, you will observed that it is only a set of Justices of the Appeal Court that are treating cases bordering on electoral disputes.

The NBA may be misguided if it says that the judges of the lower courts are part of the problems. So, they should beam their searchlight on the Appeal Court. However, the implication of their non performance is that it may erode the confidence of the general public on the courts.

Mr Godwin Oritse, a journalist said,
“It is unfortunate if what that report said is any thing to go by. It goes to show  the level of decadence in the Nigerian society, besides, the judges are  not alone in this charade, nearly every facet of the our society have been  so affected.

It also goes to show how corrupt these judges are because what else could be responsible for this low level of performancem if it is not corruption. The merit of the cases do not matter to these judges any more, judgements are now given to the highest pay master. It is a shame. They have lost respect, credibility and the prestige of the profession.

Mr. Gbenga Ojo, law lecturer, Lagos State University.
I stand by that verdict or statement that judges, especially those sitting at the High Courts are not fit to be at the bench. What we need to note is that majority of them elevated to the bench of the High Court do not practice before their appointment, therefore, they found it extremely difficult to understand the complex procedural issues, such as consolidation, objection on issue of jurisdiction, among others. All these are elementary points of law.

It shows that they never practice deeply. So, they have no business sitting on the bench. Some of them are from legal department of banks, local government, among others. This is extremely bad.The politicians are using their appointments as political patronage. Now, the standard is extremely becoming low, except some few judges, who are above board. So, I support the NBA on the revelations.

Something urgent must be done. Those judges, appointed from the academics must be in deep practice before their appointment. Elevating them to the bench, complicate issues, without practice is bad. So, authorities must be careful before appointment is made to the bench.

Mr Jiti Ogunye, a lawyer said
The release of the report that  a considerable percentage of judicial officers in the country is incompetent is a cause for worry, not only for the legal community in Nigeria, comprising of the bar and the bench, but also for the general public.

No one, not to talk of a judge, wants to be be told that he or she is incompetent. And no people want to to be told that their justice administration system is populated by incompetent judicial officers. If the random accusation of prevalence of corruption on the bench is disconcerting to Nigerians, this fresh report of incompetence on the bench must be very worrisome.

Generally, their  is incompetence and mediocrity at all levels of our national life. In the education, health care delivery, and law-enforcement systems, there is palpable incompetence. Also in the legislative and executive arms of government, both at the federal and state government levels, there is visible incompetence. So, the reported incompetence in the judiciary is not an exclusive blight.

However, because  the judiciary plays a  pivotal role in our corporate life, as a country, and in our individual lives as citizens, the judiciary is expected to be super competent, over and above the average competence of the other segments of society, which the judiciary is charged to regulate.

In our current circumstances, it will amount to “double tragedy”, so to speak, if the judiciary that is still battling with the virus of corruption is now being accused of incompetence. In spite of the tragedy, however, the report cannot be dismissed, with a waive of the hand. In dealing with this issue, while a short-term and quick fix weeding process may be attractive as an option, we hesitate to warn that this approach may be counter-productive.

Certainly, it may be a lot easier to dismiss a judge on the ground of corruption than to dismiss him on the ground of alleged incompetence. A judge, as we know, has a security of tenure, under the Constitution, and he cannot be removed from office, except he has breached his judicial oath of office. Besides, looking for judges that are incompetent for the purpose of weeding them out of the bench may slip into an orgy of witch-hunt and persecution.

The lasting solution is that the judiciary, in  particular, and government, in general  must go back to the mode of appointment of judicial officers. Incompetence does not just happen. It has a root. And the root, in our humble opinion, is in the mode of appointment of judicial officers.

Cronysm, favouratism, and nepotism in appointment of judicial officers to the bench, must be jettisoned in favour of competence, integrity, and hard work. Above all, there must be enhanced performance review to ensure that judicial officers do not take security of tenure as a license for indolence.

Mr Oghenovo Otemu, a lawyer, said,
“The position of the law is that he who alleges must also prove.
I have heard rumours from some of my colleagues that certain judges compromised standard, though am not trying to condole such behaviour, I, however, do not think that it is coming to us as a surprise considering that almost every sector in this country has become saturated with corruption.

It behoves on both the NJC and relevant authorities to take a holistic look at these allegations with a view to not only punishing the perpetrators, but to also bring back the confidence placed on the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.

Mr Abdullahi Dako, a lawyer, said
“When I saw the news, at first I waved it off as arrant rubbish, but coming to look at it again, I think there is substance in the allegation. Today you see lawyers devising various uncanny strategies just to win a case. Some of them even go to the extent of teaching their witness to lie on oath just to emerge victorious. Then tell me, are they not the same people that will tomorrow become judges?

This is quite serious and should be a source of grave concern to all  Nigeria. Nobody is above the law, and by implication anybody can become a victim tomorrow.

A situation where only 20 percent of the judges in a country are minimally above board portends great danger for this country.

Mr Amobi Dike, a lawyer said.
“I hereby urge president Goodluck Jonathan to make haste and order state of emergency in the judicial sector. It is a pity that despite the dissenting voices alleging that the judiciary is corrupt, no concrete action whatsoever has been taken. Is this not a clear pointer to the fact that Nigeria is a failed nation. Moreover, when you look at the breed of crooks parading themselves as lawyers today, you will have no option but to weep for the future of this country.

Mr  Constance Akoh, a lawyer said,
“I make bold to say that the judiciary is gradually losing its pride of place in this country. Before commenting on the pervasive culture of impunity that has embraced most of our judges with both hands and legs, what about we lawyers?

I was so surprised when my junior colleague in the chambers hid a case-file I was assigned to handle, just because he felt it was juicy and wanted it for himself. What about our so-called Senior Advocates,  who often have chamber meetings with the judges before they attend proceedings, what about the executive arm of government that not only employ the judges but also remunerate them? The problem is like a vicious circle, and I challenge those that think they are innocent to cast the first stone.

The NBA is fond of making such unguarded statements in the press, who are they reporting the matter to? Instead of helping to put their house in order,  they rather go before the public to wash their over dirty linings before the public. I still have my reservations over that statistics they reeled out to the press.

How did they garner it, and how did they generate the sample. These are some of the factors we must equally consider before thumping up for them.