Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has stated that the apex court and judges should come to terms with the “vast trust deficit” within the justice sector and put countermeasures to address the issue.
The apex court’s Director of Press and Information, Akande Festus, in a statement issued in Abuja Thursday said: “In view of the rumour currently circulating in the social media space that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola had a telephone conversation with His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) with a view to pressurising the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on the likely judgment to give, it is imperative to state clearly that there is no iota of truth in the narrative, as there was no such telephone conversation between the CJN and anyone.
But, speaking on Channels Television’s “Politics Today,” Odinkalu said the public has lost its trust in the judicial system, which should be of grave concern.
“The judicial system reflects a trust deficit that has been long in the making and it is not one thing or an event, it is a build-up,” he said.
“The cumulative effect of all of this is that people no longer trust judges,” he stated.
Asked if it was a case of mudslinging aimed at the CJN and other judges, the human rights activist dispelled the notion saying, “There is a problem with judicial credibility and this credibility crisis arises almost always in party political cases and election petitions.
“It goes back to 1979 elections. Since we have been in the election system, judges have been increasingly playing a role in adjudicating election disputes.
“Up to 2003, I think it was tolerable. After 2003, we went into a new territory in which judges started deciding who won and lost elections, started adding and subtracting numbers, and with that, the level of money being thrown at judges in order to buy decisions began to change,” he said.
Profereing possible solutions to the issue, Odinkalu said the CJN should first desist from any form of nepotism, stressing that it is its greayest achilles heels.
“The Chief Justice should not be appointing his son the judge of a Federal High Court, no matter how good his son is,” he stressed.
“There is nothing hereditary about being a Judge and the senior judges should stop doing insider trading with judicial appointments.
“As a country we have to say enough is enough. The buying of the judiciary is why these forms of allegations are being traded.
On if it was mudslinging thrown at the CJN and other judges, the human rights activist dismissed such pointing out that, “there is a problem with judicial credibility and this credibility crisis arises almost always in party political cases and election petitions.
