Lagos-based lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and a former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Samuel Ilori, , have commended the National Judicial Commission (NJC) for its effort in checking corruption in the judiciary.
Ilori gave the commendation on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), while reacting to the sacking of Justice Shadrach Nwanosike of Abia for alleged age falsification.
NAN recalls that the NJC on July 29 ordered the compulsory retirement of Nwanosike, the acting Chief Judge of Abia, over allegation of age falsification.
Ilori in his reaction said that there were some “bad eggs” in the judiciary, who were bent on dragging the nation’s image in the mud.
He urged the NJC to work assiduously to ensure that “corrupt officers are carefully sorted out and sanctioned’’.
“It is clear that there are some bad eggs in the judiciary, but what is most important is that they should be continuously sorted out and punished adequately without any cover-up.
“Recently, a judge of the Federal High Court was also suspended for acts of corruption, and I think this is a commendable action by the NJC.
“The fact that these corrupt officers are being sorted out and appropriately penalised, is enough to repose more confidence in the judiciary,” Ilori said.
He, therefore, urged judges to shun acts capable of impugning on their integrity, and tarnishing the reputation of the nation’s judiciary.
Also speaking, a Lagos-based lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said the NJC’s decision was a “good omen” for the judiciary.
According to Sagay, if proper sanctions are constantly meted on erring members of the judiciary, it will, in turn, send warning signals to other officers who are guilty of such corrupt practices.
“For a judge to falsify his age is a form of moral turpitude. It means he is not a reliable person, he is dishonest, and his judgment can be influenced.
“In such a situation, there is nothing more befitting for such individual than a sack.
“I give kudos to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for her bold step in sanitising the Nigeria judiciary, and I am optimistic that soon, issues of corruption in the judiciary will be a thing of the past.
A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) described the act as “disgraceful”.
He said the compulsory retirement of Nwanosike was part of the on-going sanitisation process embarked upon by the NJC, to demonstrate its zero tolerance to corruption by judicial officers.
“The decision of the NJC is laudable as it is part of the on-going cleansing process of the judiciary.
“How can the Chief Judge of a state falsify his age and still claim to be a judge. It is very disgraceful,” he said.
Agbakoba said it was important for the judiciary to be rid of all forms of corrupt and fraudulent officers, so as to forestall a collapse of the system.
“With the recent sanctions on corrupt judges, other judges must now come to terms with the fact that the long arm of the law is lurking, and they must take a cue, lest they fall victims themselves,” he said.
The former NBA president commended NJC and urged it to keep up the good work and ensure that the nation’s judicial system is rid of filth. (NAN)
Source: Vangard
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