Political parties in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) have expressed concern over the declining public trust in the judiciary in the country.
They therefore reiterated the urgent need for reforms in the judicial sector to sustain the country’s democracy.
Among other demands in their communique, the parties, at a programme to discuss judicial reforms, said the “innovations introduced by the BVAS accreditation and uploading of elections results at the polling units to ensure transparent democratic processes must be given the correct interpretation to ensure the sanctity of democratic sanity.”
They added that “electronic evidence in section 84 of the Evidence Act and the use of Technology must be given prominent pride of place to avoid old and analogue requirements of calling polling units by polling units evidence in proof of electoral malpractices.”
While the parties charged the judiciary to avoid technicality and adhere to substantial justice, they said judges and other judicial officers must maintain “a very great distance from politics and politicians.”
Speaking at the first IPAC Roundtable on “The Role of the Judiciary in Nigeria’s Democratic Sustainability”, the national chairman of the body, Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said their intervention was because, the Judiciary is expected to be the stabilising force and the last hope of all aggrieved people against opponents’ inclination, penchant and propensity for injustice.
He said, “The court is the Temple of Justice, its ministers are expected to be upright, men and women of integrity who will dispense justice no matter whose ox is gored.
“Priests in the temple of justice are expected to be God-fearing, courageous and fearless in the discharge of their constitutional duties, conscious of the fact that they sit in judgement over the affairs of fellow compatriots, acting on behalf of God who is the Judge of all. Like Caesar’s wife, they should live above board.
“Unfortunately, there seems to be anarchy and rebellion in the temple of justice – conflicting courts orders/judgements by courts of coordinate jurisdiction as witnessed recently in Rivers and Kano State as well as the growing perceptions of miscarriage of justice by some judgements delivered by Elections Petitions Tribunals and appeal courts which did not reflect the mandates of the people and led to mass actions in some States.
“The consequence of this development is the public lack of confidence in the administration of justice in Nigeria. It calls for urgent judicial reform to save the judiciary and restore its integrity and honour as the Temple of Justice and the last hope of all aggrieved people,” he said.
He said issues of “great concern” to IPAC and stakeholders include constitutional interpretation and judicial review; dangers of conflicting court judgements; making sense of the political logjam and traditional debacle in Rivers and Kano States respectively; judicial independence and accountability; the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the effectiveness of current disciplinary measures in curbing misconduct, among others.
In his speech, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, echoed the need to strengthen and enhance the judiciary’s role in the democratic sustainability of the country.
Ganduje said, “I believe one of the key pillars of a vibrant democracy is an independent judiciary, therefore, stakeholders in the democratic process must ensure that the judiciary remains free from external influences and interferences this will enable it to uphold the principles of fairness, and the rule of law.”
He said the judiciary has played a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s democratic landscape from the early days of independence to the present day.
The ruling party chairman said playing such a critical role has seen the judiciary face such challenges as inadequate funding, delays in justice delivery, judicial independence, amongst others.
In light of these challenges, he stressed the need for reforms in judicial institutions as well as in the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC), among others, to sustain and strengthen democracy.
He highlighted transparency and accountability within the judiciary as crucial to build public trust and confidence in the judicial system.
“As political leaders, we must support efforts to enhance transparency, accountability, and integrity within the judiciary to promote democratic sustainability,” he added.
The APC chairman, commended IPAC for the timeliness of the event in light of the judiciary’s critical role in a democracy.
Recommendations by the parties as contained in communique issued at the end of the roundtable said: “Nigerian courts need to take a hard look at some of the principles of electoral jurisprudence that are aiding and abetting the rigging and imposition of people duly rejected at the polls but wrongly announced and imposed by the electoral body;
“Nigerian judiciary must be bold and ready to do what it is set up to do in deepening democracy given the controversies that trail the conduct of elections in Nigeria;
“The old orders and some archaic precedents and principles that put roadblocks to democratic growth and development must be departed from and new set of rules to guide the political behaviours of our political class must be set. The courts must emphasize the superiority of Constitutional provisions and Acts of parliament over rules, guidelines, regulations;
“The inevitable and sacred duty on the judiciary to avoid technicality and to do substantial justice since in the words of the Supreme Court, “…technical justice, in reality is not justice but a caricature of it”;
“The innovations introduced by the BVAS accreditation and uploading of elections results at the polling units to ensure transparent democratic processes must be given the correct interpretation to ensure the sanctity of our democratic sanity;
“Electronic evidence in section 84 of the Evidence Act and the use of Technology must be given prominent pride of place to avoid old and analogue requirements of calling polling units by polling units evidence in proof of electoral malpractices;
“Legislation should nip in the bud the issue of laxity and latitude given to INEC to choose whichever method of transmission of results it wants; but adhere to a mandatory, uniform, clear and unarguable duty and obligation to be carried out by INEC via a clean and unambiguous status;
“The Nigerian Judiciary must maintain a very great distance from politics and politicians;
“The judiciary must be ready to order the demolition of superstructure erected on faulty foundations to produce winners in the elections in Nigeria and to instill political sanity in our political system and to ensure democratic growth and sustainability;
“No court worth it’s salts should approve barbaric conduct that produced winners of elections in democracy on the principle of substantial compliance that will continue to encourage brigandage and hooliganism as parts of Nigerian brand of democracy;
“Our courts must resist the temptations of encouraging the continued use of thuggery as parts of Nigerian democratic culture and values. Nigerians must not be seen as primitive in the comity of democratic nations;
There is a critical need to fully introduce forensics, Automation and Deployment of technology to the electoral process from registration to electoral transmission;
“To enhance resolution of disputes in Political parties, there should be a legislation to entrench fixed Arbitration panels in Political Parties to deal with internal disputes in Political parties;
“Nigerian judiciary must move from the analogue jurisprudence to digital jurisprudence where the use of technological devices to resolve electoral disputes are welcome and deeply encouraged.
“No one needs to be physically present in Zamfara, Lagos, Enugu, Edo, and Rivers for instance to see what goes on in those states and others states on election days given the abilities of our technological devices that has made the world a global village; Politicians should not be involved in the recruitment process of Judges.
“Accordingly, recruitment of judicial officers must be carried out transparently, meritoriously and without bias so as to have the best hands, with impeccable integrity, which will in turn rub off on the quality of judgments,” the communique said.
