Some judges giving us bad name — CJN

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, said some judges are giving the judiciary a bad name.

She spoke in Lagos weekend at a public discourse on ‘Ethics, Morality and The Law’, organised by the Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness (MICA) to mark its 30th anniversary and the elevation of Justice Habeeb Adewale Abiru to the Supreme Court.

The CJN warned judges to remember that as individuals, they are accountable to themselves and to God.

She said the perspective of the ordinary citizen, who observed and assessed the extent to which ethics, morality and the law co-existed harmoniously in the society must be taken into consideration.

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She said: “The role of the legal practitioner within this framework, merits a particular attention. The lawyer, often seen as both antagonist and protagonist in the pursuit of justice, must navigate a terrain where law, ethics, and morality intersect.

“This dual role requires balancing the scriptures and the law with ethical constitutions, often containing moral and legal questions that may seem at odds. As a minister in the temple of justice, the lawyer’s commitment to justice involves upholding legal standards, while advancing principles that follow society’s ethical expectations.”

Also, the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, advised the Nigerian judges not to be swayed by favouritism and nepotism, declaring that some judgements fly in the face of common sense.

Sanusi stated that there was the need to fight for the integrity and independence of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies.

He tasked the judges to always ask themselves where they would be when they stand before God to explain their judgements.

He said, “You are the final judge, Supreme Court. Once the Supreme Court rules, there is no judgement apart from God’s judgement. There will be a day when God will ask: who will be your own advocate on that day? Who will come and be your lawyer? Who will be your senior advocate of Nigeria, your silk, in front of Allah, when he’s asking you why you ruled against what you know as a truth?

“There have been judgments that have been made that just fly in the face of common sense and many of these judgments that we hear about happen because the judges decide that even though this is substantive justice, they are not going to go with it because of technicality.

“In recent times, we have seen that what really gets to people are the manner in which technicalities are relied on to support a particular cause, and this is particularly when there is strong political interest. I will not go into specifics, but I think we all are aware. I would urge that we look at that and go beyond the technicalities of the law and actually go for substantive justice.”

Former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, said sometime application of law can be very harsh, saying there was the need to ensure that every judgement to come out of the judiciary meets the required quality.