Nigerian Judiciary: A benchmark of corruption.

The rot in the Nigerian Judiciary received a hoot of disapproval with the questionable and inconsistent interpretation of the Electoral Act which midwifed the April 2007 General Election, believed to be the worst in Nigeria history. This rot has been heaped at the door step of the Court of Appeal, especially after the stench from Osun state and the abracadabra in Jos that upturned the judgment of the lower tribunal and returned David Mark as the winner.

But what most Nigerians have closed their eyes to, is that the corruption in the judiciary goes beyond the Election Tribunals. The real rot commences in the Registry of the Nigeria judiciary. A lawyer who spoke with us, said that these Process Unit staff as they are called, are responsible for missing content in a litigant’s file, contrary dates of adjournments.  Apart from extorting a litigant by claiming that there is no file to house his writ of summons and other originating documents, these junior staff willingly tell litigants which judge is open to receiving bribes.

Another source of corruption in the Nigerian judiciary is the lawyers. A good number of lawyers in a bid to get ahead encourage the corrupt practices by these junior staff. A good number shunt due process and compromise the judiciary staff into inserting documents into a file out of time; some go to the extent of informing litigants that there is need to pay certain amount of fees to facilitate favourable judgment. When their matter is not assigned to an amiable judge, they refile and grease palms in order to get their process before the “appropriate” judge.  

If the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA-Umbrella body for all lawyers in Nigeria) is serious about the fight against corruption in Nigeria, there is need for her to start from members of the bar, rather than this crocodile tears over Ribadu and EFCC.

The judiciary Service Commission, should clamp down on any judge fingered in corrupt practices. As a deterrent, any judge whose name is whispered in questionable deal, should be placed on suspension and in innocent, the accuser should be disrobed if a lawyer and if a litigant, be prosecuted for obstructing justice.