Justice is bought and sold in Nigeria – NBA President

The President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, on Monday said there was evidence that justice was bought in the country.

The statement came just as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, warned corrupt judges in the country to resign immediately.

The NBA President and the Acting CJN spoke at a special court session to mark the beginning of a new Legal Year 2011/2012, which held at the main auditorium of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

In his address at the event, Daudu also expressed concern at the contradictory judgments being delivered by the panel of justices of the various divisions of the Court of Appeal on election petitions.

He also attributed the rise in cases of assassinations, and terrorism in the country to the inability of the judiciary to deliver clear, unquestionable judgments.

Bemoaning the sad state of Nigeria’s judicial system, Daudu noted that there was a growing perception that justice could be bought in the country.

“There is a growing perception backed up by empirical evidence that justice is purchasable and it has been purchased on several occasions in Nigeria,” Daudu said.

He added that the impending conclusion of the sitting of electoral petitions tribunals, when the various panels would deliver their judgments, would present even more critical challenges for the judiciary.

Source:  Punch Newspaper