‘I’m not out to intimidate you’ — Buhari speaks on arrest of judges

President Muhammadu Buhari says the investigations involving some members of the judiciary is not aimed at causing intimidation.

In October 2016, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) raided the homes of some judges.

Some of those arrested are still being tried in court till date.

Speaking in Abuja while declaring open the 2017 All Nigerian Judges conference, Buhari said the action was in no way a prelude to usurping the powers of the National Judicial Council (NJC).

He said he believes that the “majority of judicial officers are learned and incorruptible and day in day out acting in the best spirit of their oath of office’’.

“My lords, the judiciary came under investigation earlier this year. Let me again assure the judicial community, this action taken by the executive was in no way a prelude to usurping the powers of the National Judicial Council or aimed at intimidating the judiciary,” he said.

“Executive and legislative officials were also investigated… I am aware that the majority of judicial officers are learned and incorruptible and day-in-day-out acting in the best spirit of their oath of office.”

Buhari said his administration’s commitment is to accord the judiciary its constitutional rights.

He commended Walter Onnoghen, chief justice of Nigeria, for his recent directive to all judges at lower courts to provide him with a comprehensive list of all corruption and financial crimes in order to designate special courts to handle them.

“I support your action and the public is awaiting the results of this initiative,’’ he said.

He also spoke on the need for fairness, impartiality and speed in the administration of justice by the judiciary.

The president noted that there were huge backlogs of cases waiting to be dispensed especially at the appellate levels.

He said the reform of the judiciary should start “at eliminating these seemingly endless delays in settling what to the layman are apparently simple cases’.’

He lamented that court cases could drag on for years and sometimes decades without resolution.

“I need only mention land cases in Lagos to illustrate my point,” he said.

He added that, “again, litigants expect that higher courts should endeavour to harmonize their rulings.

“There are contradictory decisions of superior courts on the same subject matter in cases where facts are substantially the same without a clear attempt in subsequent cases to distinguish the earlier cases.

“This lack of clarity leads to serious confusion to the lower courts.

“The knock-on efforts of these delays and dis-continuities range from loss of confidence in the judicial system to over-crowding of prisons.’’

President Buhari, therefore, urged the leadership of the judiciary to pay close attention to these challenges in its efforts at reforming the system.

He revealed that he had already written to all state governors urging them to make special visit to prisons in company with chief judges and release prisoners unnecessarily detained without due process.