By Innocent Anaba
The magistracy, is the lowest ladder in the judiciary hierarchy, at least for courts of record and interestingly, it is the busiest and closest to the ordinary Nigerian. It is on record that over 90% of criminal cases are first commenced at the magistracy level.

It is common for one to see or read of all manner of cases brought before the Magistrate court by mostly the police. The offences, for which suspects are brought before the magistrate court are just inexhaustible, ranging from serious criminal matters to misdemeanour.

Even with the ruling of the Court of Appeal, notwithstanding, outlawing holding charge, it has not stopped the authorities and security agencies from charging suspects of capital offence before magistrate court, either for them to be remanded on the order of the court or for other pecuniary motive for the prosecution of the accused person.

Lately and interestingly, the magistracy has come under severe attacks from all quarters and is being accused of corruption, inefficiency among others. It has to be pointed out, however, that a corrupt free magistracy is important to our justice administration, more so since the magistrate is closest to the ordinary citizen. 80% of inmates awaiting trial in our prisons across the country today have their cases pending before the magistrate courts, either awaiting Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, advise or just cooling in jail because they do not have the means to pursue their cases.

Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu and Lagos Chief Judge, Justice Inumidun Akende

It is bad enough that our justice system administration  is not functioning well, but it is even made worse by incidents of corruption at the magistracy, where the Magistrates and support staff are accused of being corrupt, bailiffs will only locate an address for service of court process after a negotiated tip, lost files will suddenly reappear after a settlement with the registrar, access to previous decisions and other documents filed have to be negotiated for.

At a recent workshop organised for magistrates in Lagos by a civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, which brought together stakeholders in the sector, some of the magistrate spoke their minds on some of the allegations and problems confronting them.

A Lagos High Court judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillip, who chaired the event, challenged the magistrates to speak up and speak out on the issues bothering them, as it was only at such programmes that they could speak freely. Most of the magistrates who spoke, complained of poor working conditions, particularly poor pay and problem of career future, as well as support staff and some lawyers,  who they accused of collecting money from litigants, promising to forward same to the magistrates, but only use such antics to collect money from unsuspecting litigants and paint them (Magistrate) as corrupt.

On the issue of corruption, one of the Magistrates, said the support staff attached to them were to be blamed for the incidents of corruption recorded at the magistrate courts, but another Magistrate, was more blunt, as she admitted that as a fact, that there were some magistrates, who are indeed  corrupt, but that they represent a small percentage and unfortunately dent the image of the whole lot.

Another magistrate complained of the activities of security personnel, who he alleged connive with suspects and support staff to perpetrate all manners of ills at the magistracy, but for which the Magistrates are blammed.

One Mrs Martins, was, however, of the view that to combat corruption at the magistracy, Magistrate should be properly remunerated. She also argued that you cannot expect a Magistrate, who has to rent a house, but cannot afford it and has a car, but can hardly fuel it and also has children to send to school and feed, but cant afford it, not to be tempted to collect money when offered.

The Magistrates complained seriously about the antics of some lawyers, who appeared before them, noting that they(lawyers) most times make the work of the Magistrates very stressful. But Mrs O. Balogun, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, challenged Magistrates who have complaint against their support staff to forward same to the commission, adding that it was not enough for them to claim that it was the support staff attached to them, who perpetrate the corruption they (Magistrates) are accused of.

She narrated a case, where the registrar to one of the Magistrates, had to collect money from a litigant, promising that he would settle her boss. According to Mrs Balogun, the said court registrar, had to position the litigant at a vintage position, walked into the Magistrate’s chamber, came out even with the Magistrate, all laughing, which the litigant took to mean that his envelop had been accepted.  She narrated that when the litigant lost the case, he contacted a lawyer he knew with the complaint and the said lawyer promised to find out what transpired.

The lawyer on confronting the Magistrate and upon the Magistrate interrogating the registrar, it was discovered that money indeed exchanged hands, and when the Magistrate insisted that the money be returned to the litigant and the registrar was not forthcoming, the matter was reported to the commission (Lagos State Judicial Service Commission), which investigated same and came to the same conclusion.
Mrs Balogun added that the registrar was dismissed from service. She enjoined Magistrates to stop complaining, but to file formal complaint and be ready to testify against any erring support staff.

Contributing to the issue of corruption and remuneration for Magistrates, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, Executive Director of SERAP, said, “this is a timely discussion as it is coming a few weeks after we launched a publication on precisely the same issue.

“Our research reveals that the absence of a national action plan and policy to comprehensively address corruption and the impunity of perpetrators is a major contributory factor for the prevalence of judicial corruption in Nigeria , including Lagos State . It is no surprise that standards of integrity, independence, and impartiality are rarely enforced at the magistrates’ courts.”

The report identifies the major causes of corruption at the magistrates’ courts to include “the lack of judicial independence and accountability which stems from factors including: undue influence from the executive and legislative branch of government, low remuneration and poor condition of service, the administrative nature of the roles of judges [magistrates] which gives far reaching discretionary powers but weak monitoring of the execution of those powers, lack of transparency and the absence of computerised, comprehensive and regularly updated database and backlog of cases which further worsen the effects of corruption in the judiciary.”

Our research also shows that corruption in the Judiciary is not confined to magistrates’ courts only; indeed it is more pervasive among the support staff of the court system. Bailiffs will locate an address for service of court process after a negotiated tip; lost files will suddenly reappear after a settlement with the registrar; access to previous decisions and other documents filed have to be negotiated for. It is no surprise that over 70% of Nigerians say that there is corruption in the Nigerian judiciary as a whole.

The report focuses on magistrate court given the important role it plays in the administration of justice. It is the first point of call for all minor offences and for all minor civil matters. Except offences that attract capital punishment like murder, most of the offences created in our penal laws are handled by the magistrates courts.

Thus, offences such as stealing or theft, house breaking or burglary, road traffic offences, and tenancy matters, to name a few are dealt with by the magistrates’ courts. Over 80% of criminal cases end up before the magistrates’ courts. Statistics show that in Lagos State magistrates have up to 1000 cases in their docket.

This initiative directed at Lagos State is in no way indicative of the culpability of Lagos State in judicial corruption. Lagos State has continued to provide the leadership in the areas of reform of the justice system.

The momentum thus created is the principal reason for our focus on Lagos State , and we expect this pilot project to be extended to other parts of the country in the future.”

The report states that, “A corruption_free judiciary is important not only to ensure that justice is done in each case before the court but also to ensure public confidence in the judicial system. A judicial system free from corruption is an essential component of a truly democratic country and is critical to national development, sustenance of foreign investment and the eradication of poverty.

The promotion of judicial ethics, protection and sustenance of the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law is critical to the ultimate realisation of effective administration of justice. Administration of justice is the last defence of social justice, it is therefore in the interest of everyone that the last line of defence be the strongest it can possibly be.”

The 14_point programme recommended in the report include: Guaranteeing the security of tenure of magistrates through transparent appointment, promotion and discipline regime; Advancing and promoting professionalism, continuing education and training of magistrates and support staff; ensuring sufficient transparency to command public confidence; ensuring adequate resources to support magistrates and the courts system; Adopting and enforcing anti-corruption national laws and international conventions and standards, and ensuring judicial conducts of magistrates are monitored, evaluated and allegations of corruption are investigated and prosecuted without undermining the effective independence of the judiciary.

Others are promoting awareness of corrupt activities and the effects on the judiciary as a body and upon society generally; promoting anti_corruption programmes and training for the other members of the legal profession; encouraging magistrates and their personnel to foster greater public awareness of the court’s operation, roles and functions; promoting greater interaction between judicial officers at all levels nationally, regionally and internationally in other to promote best judicial practice; encouraging mentoring of new magistrates; establishing sentencing guidelines; establishing an effective public complaint mechanism; and promoting the establishment of and encouraging the use of Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism in the magistrate courts.

Similarly, although there is reluctance to subscribe to the notion that low remuneration is any justification or excuse for indulging in corrupt practices, the reality is that the  morally weak, who otherwise would have resisted the temptation to be corrupt would easily succumb to temptation when faced with the strain of financial embarrassment.

Though there is no articulation of the procedure to determine what fair remuneration is or a predetermined policy statement as to the guiding principles that would determine the conditions of service of magistrates such as would be fair in the context of impartial and independent administration of justice. Nevertheless, the government has obligations to ensure magistrates are not lacking in basics amenities of life such as suitable housing.

What is suitable will have to be computed in the context of the constant change of standard of life in Lagos State.

The way forward is to continue to work with the magistrates and the authorities to promote sensitization of judicial officers and support staff at the magistrate courts level including in Lagos State to the need for upholding the integrity of their offices within the court system. This is absolutely important if access to justice for the vulnerable sectors of the population, respect for human rights and an effective and just judicial system is to be improved and realized.