Paul Usoro, president of the
Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), says the independence of the judiciary is under
attack.
Usoro said this on Monday at an
event to mark the beginning of a new judicial year.
The NBA president said the
executive arm of government is “increasingly and unceasingly” critical of the
judiciary and its decisions in matters that has to do with it.
The federal government has been
accused of disobeying court orders, particularly in the cases of Ibraheem
el-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), and Sambo Dasuki,
ex-national security adviser (NSA).
Despite court orders granting
them bail, they are still in detention.
“In particular, the independence
of the judiciary is under severe threat,” Usoro said.
“To be exact, the independence of
mind and thoughts by Your Lordships in the determination of matters before the
Courts is under severe attack.
“The Executive arm of Government
and its agencies are increasingly and unceasingly critical of the judiciary and
its decisions particularly in matters that the Government and its agencies may
be interested in.
“It is not unusual these days to
hear high officials of government talk down the judiciary and ridiculously and
rather ill-advisedly dump all the ills of society on the judiciary.”
Usoro who is standing trial for
alleged fraud said sometimes verdicts of judges are denigrated on social and
traditional media platforms.
“These are very dangerous
practices that destroy the independence of the judiciary and by extension the
rule of law and indeed the fabric of our society,” he said.
“The society needs and can only
survive if we have independent-minded judges who are empowered to dispense
justice to all manner of men, including government departments, without fear or
favor.”
He added the people are the
ultimate losers when judges are deprived of their independence.
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