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Don’t blamed Judiciary for delays in high profile cases – CJN

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3 years ago

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Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Tanko Muhammad
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The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Tanko Muhammad says the judiciary can not be blamed for delays in high profile cases.

The CJN’s position is contained in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media on Monday in Abuja.

He said the position of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) that the Judiciary be held responsible for delays in the trial and delivery of judgments in corruption cases involving politically exposed individuals appears to be one-sided.

“The Nigerian Judiciary is not here to lay claims to being perfect but when the political and economic conditions under which it is operating is compared with its counterparts in other climes, it would be adjudged a prize model.

“The Judiciary by its constitutional position does not have a criminal investigations unit or Fraud Detective Squad to detect and investigate criminal involvement of any person, neither does it have a garrison command to fight its cause or enforce its orders and decisions.

“More often than not, the Federal Government’s prosecution sector files more charges than it can prove or provide witnesses, at times as a result the prosecution even fails”.

He said that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) under reference is infected with sores in some parts, making speeding adjudications impossible in some instances.

“In some instances the high volume of cases, limited number of judges, poor infrastructure or archaic equipment also contribute to the challenges”.

He noted that the federal government had while giving reasons for its under-funding of the Judiciary, on January 26, at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Justice Sector Summit 2022 in Abuja said that the Judiciary has not been transparent in the spending its yearly allocations.

“The Judiciary has refrained from joining issues all this while but to state the facts in line with the budget call circular and ceiling the Federal Government sent to the Judiciary before the beginning of the fiscal year.

”The,Judiciary prepares its budget estimates for capital, overhead and personnel costs according to the ceiling, needs and priority.

“The Judiciary defends its budget before the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Judiciary at the National Assembly, besides the initial vetting by the Executive.

“It also has an internal mechanism for budget control and implementation. Each Court and judicial body has a budget unit, the accounts department, internal audit, Due Process Unit, as well as Departmental Tenders Board.

“There is also a Due Process Committee at the NJC and the Judicial Tenders Board that award contracts on expenditure above the approval limit of the accounting officers of the Courts and judicial bodies”, he added.

He said the layers of control were established by the Judiciary to ensure transparency, accountability and effective budget implementation.

“Similarly, by virtue of Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, the National Assembly carries out oversight visits to the Judiciary to monitor the implementation of its budget.

“Section 88(2)(b) also mandates the National Assembly to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it.

“The Executive also put in place some mechanism to monitor budget implementation and accountability in the Judiciary through its organs like the office of Accountant General of the Federation and Auditor General of the Federation, and other agencies where the need arises”.

According to him, apart from the internal audit units of the Judiciary, the Federal Audit Department maintains offices in all the courts and judicial bodies that monitor spending in the Judiciary.

“If the Federal Audit raises a query on any transaction and it is not well defended, it sends the report to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly and officials of the Judiciary would be invited to explain themselves.

“The question to ask is, who else should the Judiciary open its account books to, and who among these organs had raised exceptions which were not defended by the Third Arm?
The answer is none.

“One only hopes that these allegations against the Judiciary by the Federal Government is not just a way of giving a dog a bad name so as to hang it”, he concluded.

 

(NAN)

 

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Judiciary

Appeal Court Affirms IPOB As Terrorist Group

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13 hours ago

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January 30, 2025

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IPOB Flag
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The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the January 18, 2018 order by Justice Abdu Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja proscribing the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and designating it as terrorist organisation.

In a judgment on Thursday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal was unanimous in holding that the Federal Government acted lawfully in proscribing the group, whose activities threatened the nation’s continued existence and the security of citizens.

In the lead judgment, Justice Hamma Barka resolved all the issues raised for determination against the appellant – IPOB and declared the appeal unmeritorious and dismissed it.

 

 

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Judiciary

Court Stops VIO, Others From Seizing Vehicles, Imposing Fines

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4 months ago

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October 3, 2024

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VIO Vehicles
VIO Vehicles
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has curtailed the powers of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (VIO), barring it from stopping and impounding vehicles or imposing fines on motorists across Nigeria’s capital.

Justice Evelyn Maha, on October 2, 2024, delivered this judgment in response to a fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit initiated by public interest lawyer Abubakar Marshal.

The court found that the VIO, along with other enforcement officials, lacked the legal authority to halt vehicles or penalise drivers.

The ruling impacts the Director of Road Transport, the Area Commander of Jabi, the Team Leader of Jabi, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who were all named as respondents.

Justice Maha ruled that none of these parties, under the Minister’s authority, could justify the seizure of vehicles or the imposition of fines on road users.

The judge further issued a perpetual injunction prohibiting these officials and their agents from infringing on the rights of Nigerians to move freely, asserting that any such actions violate constitutional rights, including the presumption of innocence and the protection of personal property.

This ruling reinforces motorists’ rights and limits the powers of the authorities in vehicle-related enforcement without legal grounds.

 

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Judiciary

27 Rivers Assembly Lawmakers Dump PDP For APC

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1 year ago

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December 11, 2023

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Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike
Rivers State Assembly Complex. Insets: Governor Siminalayi Fubara (L) with FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike
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The Current political drama in Rivers State has taken a new turn as 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A member of the Assembly, Enemi George, confirmed to Channels Television that the 27 lawmakers were under the leadership of Martin Amaewhule.

He said the decision was taken during their sitting on Monday morning.

For weeks, Amaewhule and another member, Edison Ehie, have been embroiled in a Speakership tussle. Amaewhule is believed to be loyal to ex-governor Nyesom Wike while Ehie is known to be in the camp of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The Assembly under Amaewhule had in October served an impeachment notice on the governor and removed Ehie as the House leader. However, some members of the Assembly loyal to Fubara immediately impeached Amaewhule and made Ehie the new Speaker.

The crisis in the 32-member Assembly had begun as a result of a rift between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Though the two politicians have both attended same public events in the last few weeks and all seemed to have been settled but with Monday’s defection of 27 lawmakers from the PDP to the APC, more drama might unfold in the state’s political arena.

Meanwhile, some political players from other parties over the weekend announced their defection to the PDP.

Leading the defectors from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the APC were the deputy governorship candidate of the SDP in the 2023 election, Patricia Ogbonnaya; and former Ahoada-West Chairman, Karibo Wilson.

They decamped alongside their supporters and other party excos.

The politicians dumped their former parties to pitch tent with the PDP group loyal to Fubara.

Also in attendance were some of the Ehie-led group of lawmakers, with the member representing Ahoada West, Goodboy Sokari representing the governor alongside Oko Jumbo from Bonny Constituency.

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