The Chief Justice of Nigeria has declared the readiness of the National Judicial Council to investigate and sanction judges across the federation that engage in acts of judicial malfeasance.
Justice Muhammad
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), has declared the readiness of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate and sanction judges across the federation that engaged in acts of judicial malfeasance.
Consequently, the CJN, who doubles as Chairman of the NJC, urged anyone aggrieved by the conduct of any judicial officer to forward a petition to the legal body for appropriate action, saying his administration has zero tolerance for corruption within the judiciary.
Justice Muhammad maintained that the Supreme Court is ready for any eventuality and well prepared to keep the country together as one indivisible entity through effective and efficient justice delivery.
He spoke after he received members of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) led by their Chairman, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) who paid a courtesy visit to the apex court on Wednesday.
According to a statement signed by the Director of Press & Information at the Supreme Court, Dr. Akande Festus, the CJN, stressed that the court, being the highest and final court in the land, is always very critical and conscious of every case that comes before it on appeal.
He said as such, justices of the apex court always put in a concerted effort by doing a critical review of all facts and evidence before them to arrive at a decision in order to give justice to all parties in a free, fair and generally acceptable manner without any iota of equivocation.
‘’We are all seasoned judicial officers that were appointed to the Supreme Court based on merit, experience and qualification. We are bound by the oath we have subscribed to and thus discharge our responsibilities without deference to anybody and we will continue to do so.
“We are never above board as human beings, so we are open to constructive criticisms. It may interest you to know that before we deliver any ruling or judgment, no matter how small it is, even if it is only five sentences, we have to hold a conference with all the justices on the panel and could even expand it in some critical situations to involve all the justices of the court. The sole aim of this practice is to ensure that justice is given in every case before us, no matter how infinitesimal it might be because we are the final court in the land.”