The Chief Justice of Nigeria,
CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has warned judges against closeness with
politicians ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The CJN admonished judges to be
wary of the politicians, who, according to him, were capable of destroying
their reputations.
He said this while declaring open
this year’s Annual Conference of Justices of Court of Appeal, in Abuja, adding,
“soon the tempo of political activities will pick up.”
He said, “Let me remind us that
our salvation remains in our hands; so in the approaching frenzied political
activities leading to the 2019 general elections, let us continue to watch the
company we keep, the people we open our doors to, lest we unwittingly open
ourselves to ridicule and embarrassment as the politicians will do anything,
not necessarily legal, to have their way, including destroying our hard-earned
reputation and integrity.”
Onnoghen said he was desirous of
leaving behind “a judiciary that has been returned to its glory as a noble and
enviable institution in every sense of the word.
“Your level of preparation,
coupled with the determination of Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari, to bequeath
to Nigeria a legacy of credible election process , will guarantee the peace and
stability we all desire.
“On judicial precedents as they
relate to election and pre-election matters, I want to remind us that the
Supreme Court has decided in a number of cases that the principles of judicial
review such as Mandamus, Certiorari, and Prohibition etc do not apply because
election and election-related matters, such as pre-election causes, are suis
generis.
“There is an emerging trend
whereby a party in a pre-election or election matter, after exhausting his
remedies sometimes up to the Supreme Court still pursues a parallel cause of
action under the guise of judicial review hoping that one of such parallel
actions may succeed, thereby making the court to contradict itself, resulting
in a great embarrassment to the system.
“I am saying these because soon
the tempo of political activities will pick up and some lawyers will stop at
nothing in their effort to outsmart the Bench; so be very careful and as I have
always said, be on top of your game by mastering the principles of laws and
facts relevant to the case or issues involved in the dispute so as not to allow
legal practitioners to mislead you to the embarrassment of the judiciary.”
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