Ahead of the 2019/2020 legal year, some lawyers on Thursday in Lagos called for a more vibrant and courageous judiciary to enhance access to justice.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal High Court, on July 5, began its annual vacation which marked the end of the 2018/2019 legal year.
It will begin the next legal year on Sept. 16.
Other courts across the country also go on vacation during the same period.
The lawyers told NAN that Nigeria needed more vibrant, bold and truly independent judiciary to sustain the trust of Nigerians on the government arm as the last hope of the common man.
A rights campaigner, Chief Malcolm Onirhobo, said that Nigeria would need more courageous judges to make a mark in the next legal year.
“Some judges lack the confidence to deliver justice without fear or favour. Some rely on mere technicalities to shy away from cases,’’ he said.
Onirhobo claimed that lawyers filed cases which were struck out after two years without the judges going into the substance.
“A lawyer comes to court with an emergency process and is told that his case is too weak. Justice does not reside in the physical structure of the court, it resides in the man sitting to dispense it.
“Truth must be told: Judges of the past were known to deliver substantial justice with firmness; so, in the new legal year, the judiciary must be bold and upright to discharge its duties,” he said.
Mr Spurgeon Ataene, Managing Partner at Spurgeon Ataene and Co., said that the judiciary should convince Nigerians in the next legal year that it was not biased.
According to him, judicial officers should be detached from cases they would handle to encourage lawyers and litigants.
“Lawyers often get discouraged due to interjections; the judiciary should be truly independent with no pipers dictating tunes.
“Judicial officers at all levels should largely be appointed from among practising lawyers.
“This is because, those appointed from one bench to another may have the tendency to be subservient in cases involving the state,” he said.
Mr Ayotunde Ologe, also a lawyer, told NAN: “I expect the judiciary to perform better in the new legal year.
“The judiciary should work on enhancing its integrity and improving in justice delivery.’’
Ologe also called for improvement in courtrooms to make them more comfortable for justice administration, adding that more judges should be employed.
He, however, hailed the judiciary for efforts to move the justice system forward in spite of challenges.
The lawyer told NAN that many judicial officers and workers operated under poor conditions. (NAN)
