Judiciary’s independence incomplete without financial freedom- CJN

.Says judiciary goes cap in hand begging for funds .’We won’t pander to anybody’s whims’

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, on Monday, reassured that the Judiciary is independent in decision making, but lamented that the third arm of government is completely cap in hand beginning for funds.

“We don’t pander to any body’s whims and caprices. If there is any deity to be feared, it is the Almighty God. We will never be subservient to anybody, no matter his position in the society, he said.

CJN Muhammad stated this at the special session of the Supreme Court of Nigeria marking the commencement of 2019/2020 legal year and swearing -in of 38 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

He noted the various debates at different fora as to whether the Nigerian Judiciary is truly independent. He stated that discussants always assess the situation from varied perspectives which largely account for the often conflicting views.

According to him, the Nigerian Judiciary to a large extent is independent in conducting its affairs and taking decisions on matters before it without any extraneous influence.

But, if the Judiciary is assessed from the financial perspective, “the annual budget is still a far cry from what it ought to be”, as “the figure is either stagnated for a long period or it goes on a Progressive decline”, he said.

He pleaded with the federal authorities to let the Judiciary enjoy their independence holistically.

Justice Muhammadu said that if those concerned claimed “I am independent, but in way, whether I like it or not, I have to go cap in hand, asking for funds to run my office, then I have completely lost my independence.” This is because “is like saying a cow is free to graze about in the meadow but at the same time, tying it firmly to a tree.”

The CJN also decried the salaries of judicial officers. He said although the issue is at the front burner of national discourse, it remains one of the many issues yet to be addressed by the government.

He said that while efforts should be made to increase the salaries of serving judicial officers, retired justices should be accorded the benefit of annual medical treatment locally and abroad. According to him, poor medical care accounted for the increasing deaths of most of the retired justices.

CJN also attributed gross underfunding and neglect of the Judiciary over the years for having imparted negatively on the infrastructure and personnel within the system.

He appealed to governments at all levels to free the Judiciary from the financial bondage it has been subjected to over the years.

Justice Muhammad said that under his watch, the Judiciary must uphold the tenets of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land while the rule of law which is the bastion of every democracy will strictly be impressed on all governments to actively toe that path.

Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Paul Usoro (SAN), lamented that the Bar and the Bench have been under siege by anti-corruption law enforcement agencies.

“To the extent that the practice of law has been criminalised by the security agencies; they now “demonise and humiliate lawyers and the legal profession. The practice of law has consequently become very dangerous and risky,” Usoro (SAN), said.

He, however, asked the 38 new SANs to brace up for the challenges ahead, because “Your elevation comes at a time that the profession – both the bar and the bench – is under siege, mostly at the instance of agencies that ordinarily should be our partners in law enforcement. “

He noted “that some law enforcement agencies seem to derive sadistic pleasure in locking up lawyers and imposing impossible bail conditions for their release, mostly in the course of investigating the professional functions of these lawyers”.

On his part, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), noted that the Federal Government had inaugurated the Presidential Implementation Committee on Autonomy of the State Legislature and State Judiciary.

He expressed the hope and desire that at the end of the Committee’s assignment, the independence of the Judiciary at the State level would be further guaranteed.

Malami, whose address was delivered by Dayo Apata, one of the new senior advocates, the solicitor general of federation and Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Justice, said consultations are ongoing on the need to expand the areas in which the decisions of the Court of Appeal shall be final.

“It will therefore be worthwhile to restructure our legal architecture such that matters are dealt with in a manner that will guarantee an end to litigation and that justice is not delayed arbitrarily, he said.