Elechi Canvasses Reform In Judicial Framework

Governor Martin Elechi of
Ebonyi State has said that the country’s judicial framework should be situated in the context of its contemporary realities.
Elechi made the call on Tuesday while declaring open the 47th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers in the law auditorium of the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki.
He said situating the judicial framework in that manner was imperative at this time of national upheaval arising from insurgency and strife.
According to him, “We have to seriously address the ethical commitment of lawyers and jurists in the nation’s legal system. “It will be sheer hypocrisy for anyone to blame our contemporary national malaise on the doorsteps of one profession but it is a fact that lawyers are at the heart of our survival as a law-governed society.
“For our collective aspirations, discipline, order and due process to take root, officers and guardians of the legal system must be committed to upholding the law at all times,” he said.
The governor lamented the penchant of individuals and groups to disobey court orders, saying the court constituted the most potent instruments of conflict resolution.
“Any disobedience to the lawful orders of the court is not only an affront on the rule of law but also an invitation to self-help and anarchy. “Governments and politicians are frequently the chief culprits of this condemnable practice, as in some cases, lawyers tend to teach their clients to undercut the law,” he said.
He commended the leadership of the association for its robust and patriotic vision which enabled it to set the proper agenda for law reforms and reviews.