Abuja – The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Coalition for Democracy and Credible Election (CODECE) have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to wade into the crisis in the judicial sector.

Both bodies made the call in respect of the current face-off between the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of Appeal Court, in a joint statement issued on Friday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the statement was jointly signed by Mr Shuaibu Leman, the National Secretary of NUJ, and Dr Lanre Adebayo, the National Co-ordinator of CODECE.

They said the intervention was necessary as the judiciary is critical to the survival of democracy in Nigeria.

“The current problem in the judiciary should be carefully tackled by the country’s elders in a way that the integrity of the judiciary would be strengthened,” the NUJ and CODECE said.

The two bodies also said there was the need to convene a meeting of all former Nigerian Heads of State on the lingering crisis between the two judicial officers.

NUJ and CODECE cautioned that an attempt to politicise the dispute would further disrupt the dispensation of justice and democracy in the country.

They however opposed the National Assembly’s move to probe the crisis between the two judges, saying “the exercise will politicise the issues at the heart of the judicial conflict”.

The two bodies also advised the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), civil society groups and the mass media to refrain from commenting on the matter.
(NAN)