NJC, NBA urged to sanitise judiciary

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

The National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have been urged to sanitise the judiciary.

The call was handed down by the Citizens’ Gavel, in a statement, following the conflicting judgements in the ongoing emirship tussle in Kano State.

Its Team Lead, Nelson Olanipekun, said NJC and NBA should go beyond punishing judges, but to shape public perception of the judiciary.

Olanipekun said: “Citizens Gavel learnt that the Chief Justice of Nigeria has summoned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court as well as the Chief Judge of the Kano State High Court in connection with the conflicting court orders issued by the two Courts.

“On the other hand, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has undertaken, in a statement, to investigate the conducts of the lawyers who were involved in the procurement of the conflicting court orders with a view to commencing disciplinary action against them before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.

“While we sincerely hope that this issue will not be swept under the carpet but treated with the utmost dispatch it deserves, we must remind both the NJC and the NBA that as disciplinary bodies, they shoulder the responsibility of shaping public perception of the judiciary and by extension, the legal profession and that no one will respect much less have recourse to the judiciary if conducts which expose the entire legal profession to disrepute and opprobrium are not corrected through sanctions.”