THE two contenders for the Presidency of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Emeka Ngige and Barrister Okey Wali have vowed to wage war against corruption in the judiciary to protect the integrity of the legal profession, if elected next month.
The two aspirants who spoke in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital yesterday at the ongoing two-days seminar with the theme, ‘Evolution of the Legal System and the Legal Practitioners’ organized by the Dutse branch of the association, were unanimous in their resolve to use their position as the national President of the NBA to ensure that the judiciary is rid of corruption.
Ngige said he would establish anti-corruption committees at every branch of the association to monitor judges and lawyers who are corrupt.
He added that judiciary would be made to device strategies that would ensure that judges who collect bribes are recorded on tape after which they would be tried and dismissed from service.
He disclosed that he would also fight for the independence of the judiciary and the Bar to ensure that the body actually plays its role as the watchdog of the society.
His words: “Now, a lot of things are going wrong in the profession. One is that when matters go to court, they stay there ad infinitum. This is one of the challenges the Bar Association should find solution to. For instance, a criminal matter or civil matter lasts for about seven to 15 years at the trial court; seven years at the Court of Appeal and another five years at the Supreme Court. It shouldn’t be.”
He advocated for the adoption of the English type of practice in the proposed amendment of the Nigerian constitution whereby ad-hoc judges are appointed from the pool of lawyers who will come and clear the backlog of all the cases.
On his part, Wali said if elected, he would set up a Bar Bench Forum which will be able to discuss with members of the judiciary, adding that there is decadence in the society which would not be allowed to permeate the judiciary.
He said he would work for a total reform of the judicial system in the country.
In his address, Chairman of NBA, Dutse chapter, commended the Jigawa State government for not interfering with the justice system, adding that the NBA enjoys a good working relationship with the government.
He indicated that Governor Sule Lamido recently assented to the jigawa State Court law making it compulsory for only qualified legal practitioners to be appointed as chief registrar, deputy registrar and the chief inspector of the Sharia Court of Appeal.
