Judiciary saves Nigeria from total collapse, says CJN

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has said that the judiciary saved Nigeria from collapse through timely resolution of disputes capable of destroying the country.

The CJN, who disclosed this on Tuesday at a workshop for judges in Abuja, also urged judicial officers to encourage the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods, such as Arbitration and Mediation, for expeditious resolution of cases.

The one-day workshop with a theme titled, “Nigerian local content development and monitoring”, was organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB).

Justice Onnoghen, who hailed the contributions of the judiciary to the nation’s peace and stability said: “It is on record, My lords, that the timely interventions of the court at critical points in this country have certainly contributed in no small measure to the peace and stability of the country today.

” I make bold to say, without any fear of contradiction, that the Nigerian Judiciary is a key partner in ensuring stability in the oil and gas sector by interpretation of the relevant laws to the industry.”

Justice Onnoghen also urged participants to have recourse to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010 when adjudicating over disputes relating to Oil and Gas Servicing and Exploration Contracts.

The CJN further urged judges “to encourage the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods, such as Arbitration and Mediation, which will engender the expeditious resolution of cases in the industry.

Justice Onnoghen further assured that the judiciary will continue to apply the law correctly and “proactively supporting the regulators and stakeholders in the Oil and Gas industry such as the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB) in their bid to ensure growth and stability in the oil and gas sector in line with the Rule of Law.”

On his part, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore emphasised the need for the judiciary to enforce strict compliance with the local content laws.

“The local Content Development and Management Board has been using carrot and stick approach in enforcing compliance with local content law administratively.

“It is now appropriate for the judiciary to use stick in line with rule of law to ensure total compliance.”

Also speaking at the workshop, the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Rosaline Bozimo, said judges are required to possess adequate knowledge and skills on oil and gas to efficiently adjudicate on the cases that may come before them.

“This has ultimately informed the need for this workshop to be held so as to expose judicial officers to legal and technical aspects of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.”

The Administrator, who was represented by the Institute Secretary, Abubakar Maidona, charged judges to be proactive in the discharge of their constitutional duties by not allowing technicalities stand in the way of substantive justice, especially with regard to oil and gas disputes which accrue huge financial costs for the litigating parties.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Egnr. Simbi Wobote, solicited the support of the judiciary to achieve “our drive to create wealth for local businesses and jobs for our teeming populace in line with the law.”

Wobote noted that an enabling regulatory framework backed with the appropriate legislation is a fundamental piece for sustainable local content practice.

He said, “In Nigeria, we have moved from the ‘best endeavour’ environment into the one in which there is a law in place thus it is no longer optional or debatable whether to comply.

“Much of the 28% local content achievement has been done using the passion and commitment of the various directorates in the Board.

“Our next big leap from 28% to 70% in-country value retention will require step change in the enforcement of the law to drive reversal of capital outflow.

“We need the support of the judiciary to achieve our drive to create wealth for local businesses and jobs for our teeming populace in line with the law that local content has the potential to create additional 300,000 jobs and $14 billion earnings.”