The president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Yakubu Maikyau, has stated that the administration of justice is the only prerequisite that would guarantee a harmonious relationship between citizens and the existence of a nation itself.
He made this known on Monday at the 2024 NBA SLP annual conference on a topic tagged “Administration of Justice in Nigeria: Challenges and Reforms.”
Barrister Maikyau disclosed that this conference is happening for the first time in the North and is being held in Kano.
According to him, “You can see by the theme of the conference that it is about the administration of justice, the challenges, and the reforms.”
He added that, based on the previous speeches and the keynote address delivered, “You will all agree with me that emphasis is placed on the need for us to administer justice in whatever we do.”
This became imperative because justice is what would guarantee our harmonious coexistence as a people and even the existence of the country itself.
He therefore hinted that the administration of justice is a subject that cannot be over-discussed, a subject we should talk about every day, and that it should also be a part of us.
The NBA president also stated that the administration of justice must be a subject that resides in our consciousness and comes up in everything we do at all levels of our existence as people, from family to the highest level in this country.
He said that “when we agree to do justice in everything that we are doing, it will aggregate into the development of peace in our nation.”
Speaking on the occasion, the Kano State Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Baffar Bichi, who spoke on behalf of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, said that “the justice system is a cornerstone of any function of any society.”
Governor Yusuf added that the administration of equal justice without fear or favour is the platform upon which the rights of the citizens of a country are protected, hence the need to ensure that this is upheld.
As we all know, Nigeria’s administration is facing many significant challenges, adding that these are various challenges that hinder trust and confidence in the judiciary.
However, in his keynote address, President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Justice Benedict Bakwaph, said that unless the Nigerian judiciary transmogrifies as the dictates of globalisation, information technology, and development impact national laws, we may find ourselves left out of the scheme of things.
The administration of justice, by definition, is the process by which the legal system of a country is executed, with the goal being that justice is dispensed to all.
He hinted that “judicial bashing appears to be a pastime today. On February 1, 2023, the then Governor of Kaduna State, Mr Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, said on Channels Television that the Nigerian judiciary is pathetic, too slow, and often on the side of crooks rather than on the side of the government or the innocent.”
We have also heard of politicians saying that what they got from the courts was not justice but judgement. Or that they will not obey a court order until the Supreme Court speaks, a euphemism for undermining lower courts and the appellate process.
The focus of the conference is to critically examine some of the many challenges and issues that, in recent times, have continued to be a clog in its wheel of progress.
We have also heard of politicians saying that what they got from the courts was not justice but judgement. Or that they will not obey a court order until the Supreme Court speaks, a euphemism for undermining lower courts and the appellate process.
The administration of justice, by definition, is the process by which the legal system of a country is executed, with the goal being that justice is dispensed to all.
He therefore stated that we must stress the point that judicial bashing as well as other factors such as petitions against judges have combined to make adjudication defensive in the country.
By defensive adjudication, I mean that self-preserving technique adopted by a judge who plays it safe in order to avoid being cited for a disciplinary hearing.
It de-emphasises altruism, concentrating more on the self in order to avoid problems associated with having to defend or justify a decision or a judicial act undertaken.
So, despite the judicial oath to do justice without fear, favour, affection, or ill-will, judges are today defensive.
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