3 weeks ago
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Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and others person agreed with the erstwhile Vice President, stating that the Nigerian judiciary needs extremist betterment to marque justness accessible to mean Nigerians.
The erstwhile Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has made an allegation of inconsistency by the Supreme Court, which has sparked comments. Senior lawyers accidental that what the erstwhile VP said should not beryllium seen arsenic disapproval of the apex court, but arsenic a situation to enactment its location successful order.
Femi Falana emphasised that, according to Section 17(2)(a) of the Constitution of Nigeria (1999, arsenic amended), each national is entitled to equality of rights, obligations, and opportunities earlier the law.
He, however, said successful practice, affluent and mediocre defendants are not treated arsenic by Nigerian courts. Wealthy litigants often person the resources to prosecute the champion lawyers successful immoderate country of the law. At the aforesaid time, judges sometimes grounds bias successful the ongoing people conflict faced by the Nigerian people.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) argued that it is clip to betterment the medication of justness successful the country. He noted that meaningful justness requires mechanisms accessible to each citizens, not conscionable the elites.
Adegboruwa highlighted the request to code structural barriers successful the ineligible strategy and guarantee that reforms enhance, alternatively than obstruct, nationalist entree to courts and remedies.
He called for practical, system-wide improvements alternatively than specified cosmetic changes that would warrant the judiciary’s independency and entree to justness for all.
Also, immoderate elder lawyers who spoke to LEADERSHIP said the tribunal should instrumentality Prof Osinbajo’s reflection earnestly and not beryllium discourteous.
Abdul Balogun, SAN, said the remark whitethorn dependable similar criticism, but it is not.
According to him, Prof Osinbajo is not conscionable a person successful the ineligible profession; helium is 1 of the leaders successful this state who should beryllium capable to talk the information to power.
“Professor Osinbajo is simply a person successful this country, a prof of instrumentality and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; helium has each the qualities of idiosyncratic who should counsel erstwhile things are not going the close mode successful a assemblage helium has contributed to, successful building.
“He volition beryllium doing a disservice to the state and the ineligible assemblage if helium sees what is not close and keeps quiet”, helium said.
Constitutional lawyer, Barrister Bashir Usmane, said the erstwhile Vice President is saying what Nigerians already know. He says many, particularly successful the ineligible profession, person not been bold capable to talk.
“Many cases tin beryllium cited that were decided connected technicalities, peculiarly governmental cases.
“Some politicians person nary concern successful governmental offices but for the cases decided successful their favour connected technicalities, so, if this is coming from a prof of instrumentality who has spent decades successful the ineligible profession, I deliberation the Supreme Court shouldn’t discard it, they should look into it and spot it arsenic constructive disapproval to sharpen the ineligible assemblage further,” helium said.
Barrister Bello H. Seidu called for overhauling Nigeria’s justness system. He said the Supreme Court should beryllium accordant successful its judgments, indispensable for maintaining nationalist spot and processing a unchangeable ineligible system.
He said that for immoderate tribunal to beryllium consistent, it indispensable let for the improvement and attraction of predictable laws, adding that Supreme Court precedents are a usher for little courts to follow.
English (US) ·