Kudos NJC, But….

The recommendation of the National
Judicial Council (NJC) for sundry
disciplinary action against two judges and other judicial officers recently attracts attention to the apex disciplinary body of the judiciary in Nigeria as never before. This tends to reinforce discipline in that arm of government and offers an example for the others to follow.
The NJC found two judges guilty of judicial misconduct and age falsification. Justice O. Gbaja-Biamila was said to have delivered judgement in a matter which written addresses were adopted by all the parties 22 months after and 35 months after close of evidence in the suit. This is above the maximum 90 days granted by the constitution for judgement to be given after addresses.
In the case of Justice Idris M. J. Evuti of Niger State High Court and Justice Tanko Yusuf Usman, they falsified their date of birth, a tendency that had become rather common in the public service. Again, the judiciary is setting the pace and making a statement that Nigerians must note.
The Tide thinks that the NJC deserves commendation for giving flesh to the saying that in the dispensation of justice, the law does not see faces, but the weight of the charge against the weight of the law in the hand of that statue carrying the balance.
It is also heartwarming that the NJC was so thorough, it recommended for the refund of money collected beyond the retirement time of a judge, recommended for the discipline of a lawyer that walked out on a judge and acquitted a judge that was wrongfully petitioned.
Incidentally, the house-cleaning exercise appears to have come to stay. Only last year, about three judges were sanctioned. If the trend continues the judiciary will be truly reborn and actually provide the best evidence of change and proof of the campaign against corruption in the polity.
It goes without saying that with the knowledge that they too will be made to answer for their conduct, judges will be more thorough and patient. Indeed, since only very few things truly hide under the sun, those who offer and judges who receive financial inducement will have their day before the NJC.
Given the quality of pay, welfare and honour accorded judges; they should have no reason joining in the rat-race. As a people whose duty sometimes includes playing god in the life of others, a lot is expected from them. Therefore, anyone that brings odium to that high calling must be dealt with fully.
That is why we think that the NJC needs to do more to get near the expected mark. The NJC may be waiting for petition to indict judicial officers before they can be tried, but the number of judges who take their jobs too far are too many to ignore. Apart from the administration, members of the bar should speak up on them.
Meanwhile, the judges already found guilty should not just be made to retire, but should face the law like every other convicted person. On the other hand, the NJC must protect judges that face political intimidation to the letter. This is only when justice can be served fully.
Nigerians must know that it is only when justice is served that the many challenges facing the country can be fixed. For too long people have expected angels to do, what a body of good judges can do. The judiciary is the only place where the high and low can meet on equal terms outside the churches and mosques.
In bringing about the change we need, lawyers and litigants should identify for discipline judges that have become notorious. Perhaps, even the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) should also call their members to order, as some of them are known to serve as the couriers to some judges. In fact, because they want to win their cases at all costs they criminalise the judges.
The judiciary must be assisted to change by all and sundry. Those who try to influence the courts must not forget that it can also be the other way round at a time it matters most. Sometimes, the attainment of a sound judiciary begins with the recruitment process. Judges who made it through political patronage, quota system and other interests cannot be better.
Even so, let everyone that flouts the law be prosecuted and committed, be they lawyers or judges.