The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Aloma Mukhtar, on Monday, threw a
jab at Senior Advocates of Nigeria
who defend judges appearing
before the National Judicial Council
for corruption and misconduct
cases.
The CJN who spoke in Abuja at the
Judicial Reforms Conference co-
organised by the National Bar
Association, said such SANs were
definitely “working in tandem” with
the judges under probe.
She said such SANs could be as
guilty as the judge they defended.
The event was with the theme,
‘Putting our best foot forward: The
judiciary and the challenges of
satisfying justice needs of the 21st
Century’.
According to the CJN, corruption has
become “a real cankerworm” in the
country, adding that there are
instances when as many as six
judges appear for some judges
facing the NJC panel.
She said, “The NJC is trying its best to
ensure that those that are corrupt or
that have cases of misconduct
proved against them are shown the
way out.
“We receive petitions and we have
always tried to hear from both sides.
But many times many affected
judges complain that they are not
given fair hearing. Some will come
with as many as six SANs. Those
SANs who go with them are equally
guilty.
“There was one (judge) that came
with about six SANs which showed
they are working in tandem.”
But in his response, a senior
advocate, Mr. Yusuf Ali, said though
he had never defended any judge
before the NJC panel, the principle
of presumption of innocence
entitled a person to defend himself
or herself with everything at his or
her disposal, including legal
representation.
The CJN also lamented that many
lawyers were quick to accuse the
judiciary of being corrupt, yet
refused to report judges who they
knew to be corrupt to the NJC.
“You (lawyers) all know those judges
that are corrupt. You all do but you
won’t report, but you will be the one
who will raise the issue that the
judiciary is corrupt, but you will not
do your part,” she said.
Speaking on the independence of
the judiciary, she said insufficient
funding of the judiciary should not
be an excuse for various Chief
Judges to constitute themselves as
“nuisance” in Government Houses.
“We must stop interference from the
two other arms of government. The
constitution guarantees our
independence and we should strive
to establish this,” she said.
The event was organised by the NBA
in collaboration with the European
Union, the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, Access to Justice,
Open Society Initiative for West
Africa and the Performance
Evaluation Committee of the NJC.
Speaking, the Chief Justice of South
Africa, Justice Mogoeng Reetsang
Mogoeng, also emphasised the
need for the judiciary to maintain
and enjoy its “rightful status as the
third arm of the government.”
“Judiciary should not be made to
look like an appendage of the
executive arm of government. We
have to be vigilant against whatever
that could undermine our
independence,”Mongoeng said.
He added that for a country to
address the problems of corruption,
there was the need for the judiciary
to be truly and fully independent.
“Corruption has contributed to our
continued enslavement in Africa,” he
added.
The President of NBA, Mr. Okey Wali
(SAN), said “government must
recognise that the judiciary is the
third arm of government.”
He therefore called on the Federal
Government to obey a recent
judgment of the Federal High Court,
Abuja, which ordered the funding of
the judiciary by the NJC
independently of the executive arm
of government.
“The NBA reiterates that government
must recognise that it is only
existence of a virile, fearless and
independent judiciary that can
guarantee an enduring democratic
government and the maintenance of
law and order,” Wali added.
The Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice,
Mr. Mohammed Adoke, who was
represented by Bola Odugbesan,
advocated evaluation system
focused on the entire judiciary
rather than on individual judges.

http://www.punchng.com/news/sans-defending-corrupt-judges-are-also-guilty-cjn/

If SANs who defend corrupt politicians are not adjudged corrupt why then should SANs who defend corrupt judges be tagged 'corrupt'?

OP pls capitalise that SAN abeg, it is an acronym.

k

....

ideycraze: If SANs who defend corrupt politicians are not adjudged corrupt why then should SANs who defend corrupt judges be tagged 'corrupt'?

lol...Your moniker keeps making me laugh....ideycraze?

Everybody is innocent until proven guilty...This guy as a lawyer and Chief Justice for that matter should know better than spew this rubbish.

hmmmm

before nko?

Na dem dem.All for one, one for all.

99.99% judiciary system of Nigeria is fraud . So CJN should forget about corrupt SANs but focus on how to clean the system of fraud.

Very true

Abeg wetin dem talk?

that's in the eyes of GOD!

It shld be ds way then:
When a judge is found guilty in the end, he shld go down with his SAN who was his defendant. They shld get the same punishment or in leniency, the SANonly get half the punishment the guilty judge gets.
With this, dem go fear...

Besides, that statement is being hypocritical, nobody studied to be a judge from school, u start as a lawyer..and the funniest thing abt a lawyers is, they defend their client even after having the confession of being guilty from their client. They will even teach u what to say in the court of law.
So, this man, whom once, have been a lawyer dey talk this kind talk? I confuse o. Like that aint the normal job of a lawyer

Seconded.

So will they be jailed too?

Ok

This is almost a Devil's alternative. Everyone is assumed innocent until proven guilty by the law. It them means that the SAN now advocates not just for the victim, but for himself. I think the CJ is wrong here.

Surely even the guilty deserve representation in a court of law. Methinks every accused deserves representation at least until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt...otherwise there would be no need for a trial in the first place. We will just string up the accused at the gallows.

The CJN speaks as if all that is needed to convict a judge is an allegation of corruption. She speaks as if the trial should just be a formality since a verdict of guilt has already been reached.

That does not sound very much like justice to me.

Reptyle: Surely even the guilty deserve representation in a court of law. Methinks every accused deserves representation at least until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt...otherwise there would be no need for a trial in the first place. We will just string up the accused at the gallows.

The CJN speaks as if all that is needed to convict a judge is an allegation of corruption. She speaks as if the trial should just be a formality since a verdict of guilt has already been reached.

That does not sound very much like justice to me.

Excellent post.

The fact that the CJN herself does not appreciate the importance of this basic principle of Law gives you an idea of the quality of the Judiciary in Nigeria.

Reptyle: Surely even the guilty deserve representation in a court of law. Methinks every accused deserves representation at least until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt...otherwise there would be no need for a trial in the first place. We will just string up the accused at the gallows.

The CJN speaks as if all that is needed to convict a judge is an allegation of corruption. She speaks as if the trial should just be a formality.

That does not sound very much like justice to me.

You can imagin the way our judiciary is run. With this kind of mindset we can not go anywhere.
The CJN has brought another dimension to the judiciary.
Madam Alunma, no wonder you have not been able to bring any positive to the judiciary. With this statement i can imagin where she expends her energy.
The best a defence lawyer can do is put up a spirited defence on behalf of his client. The bulk stops at the preciding judge or tribunal. Lawyers must do their job which is to prosecute and defend. The bench on the other hand, which is Alunma constituency, should stop corrupt practices.

An accused is adjudged innocent until otherwise proven by a court of competent jurisdiction.

justi4jesu:

lol...Your moniker keeps making me laugh....ideycraze?

It was actually IDEYCRAZE? before Seun changed it to IDEYCRAZE ....crying

What a STUPID CJN we have here!

You are presumed innocent until proven guilty. That is what our entire legal system rests on, and that is why even high profile suspects get good lawyers to do all they can to ensure their clients are not proven guilty.

I have no idea if this lady is genuinely daft, heading towards senility or just playing to the gallery, but it was an incredibly stupid thing to say.

ideycraze:
It was actually IDEYCRAZE? before Seun changed it to IDEYCRAZE ....crying

Yes i know na wetin make me dey laugh because now him don confirm m say youdeycraze....lol sowieeee

A SAN that defend a murderer when convicted should also be convicted.

Of course.