By Sonnie Ekwowusi
Stakeholders can take advantage of Afe Babalola- Dele Farotimi conundrum to call for a Summit of lawyers, court personnel (Court Bailiffs, Court Registrars, Court clerks etc) and judges and Magistrates to try to fix the Nigerian judiciary.
Is the Nigerian judiciary beyond redemption? I don’t think so. So, let the stakeholders do something. Let us do something. Heaven helps those who help themselves.
The Nigerian judiciary, as you and I know very well, operates in a bubble or facade. Everything is wrong with the Nigerian judiciary starting from the filing of court process in court, getting the baillif to effect service, applying for certified copy of judgement or ruling, securing a date in court, applying for bail, the police adjudicating on civil cases in Police Stations, getting lawyers to come to court, getting judges to sit, 70% of awaiting trial inmates (ATM) in our Correctional Centres languishing in various detention without any succour coming from anywhere. I can go on and on.
So, let’s do something. Senior lawyers keeping quiet over the oddities plaqueing the legal profession in Nigeria are doing great de-service to the legal profession.
Is it Frank Fanon or ex-US President J F Kennedy who said the hottest place in hell should be reserved for those who keep quiet in times of great moral crisis.
So, senior lawyers should no longer keep mum over the judiciary mess in Nigeria.I am still pained by the damage I incurred flying from Lagos to Abuja to try to attend to two court cases just two weeks ago.
Before leaving Lagos I called the Registrars of the two courts and they assured me that their respective courts would be sitting. But upon arriving at the two courts on the fateful days fixed for the matters the courts were not sitting. No apologies from the Registrars. Nothing. Nada. I had spent a gruelling one week in Abuja incurring expenses. I had taken risks flying to and fro Abuja.
I am suggesting for a Summit of all stakeholders next year. The NBA could facilitate such a Summit or an NGO could shoulder the responsibility of organising such a Summit.
Keeping quiet is not the solution. Pretending that all is well is not the solution either. Gossiping on Social media is NOT the solution. Accusations and Counter accusations are no solution. Insulting others is not the solution. Cooling off in one’s comfort zone is not the solution
Sonnie Ekwowusi
PS: Making money is the only purpose of being a lawyer. It includes justice dispensation, using justice as a fine thread to knith the society. It includes using law as that social engineering often spoken about in legal jurisprudence to fix society
