*Calls For Re-Orientation Of The Magistracy Nationwide By
The National Judicial Institute, Says No Bar, No Bench.
![image](/2021/03/JRP1.jpg")
The Vanguard for the independence of the Judiciary (V4IJ), a
policy think tank made up of lawyers from across the country who
serve as a watchdog on the independence of the judiciary and its
activities, has condemned the recent excesses of two Magistrates in
Abuja, FCT and Enugu respectively.
![image](/2021/01/payne-alex.jpg")
The Group in a statement on Saturday morning issued in Benin
City by its President, Douglas Ogbankwa Esq and National Legal
Adviser, Augustine Ike Esq., condemned the overbearing attitude in
court of some magistrates and called on the National Judicial
Institute, the body saddled with the training and re-training of
judicial officers to provide a platform for re-orientation of the
magistracy all across Nigeria.
The Statement Reads in Part, thus:
“The Vanguard for the Independence of the (V4IJ), condemns the
avoidable resort to naked judicial power by a Magistrate in the
FCT, despite entreaties from members of the Bar present, over an
altercation with a lawyer, for which His Worship sent the lawyer to
Prison. It takes two to tango and it is foolhardy for one to say
the lawyer was unruly without being prompted by the magistrate.
The Vanguard also condemns the issuance of a bench warrant for a
lawyer in Enugu, because the lawyer did not appear in court. Power
is nothing without control and the relationship between the Bar and
the Bench is one of the chickens and the egg, as one comes before
the other. You cannot have a chicken before an egg. Judges and
magistrates should not forget that they are still lawyers,who were
recommended by the Bar to the Bench. To this end, judges are
expected to treat lawyers with the utmost respect, with patience
and subdued temperament, which is however covered by the doctrine
of reciprocity.
The Minnesota Bar Association Special Committee in the United
States on the Appointment of Judges stated thus on the
characteristics of a Judicial Officer:
A candidate should exhibit the following aspects of proper
judicial temperament: Patience, open-mindedness, courtesy, tact,
courage, punctuality, firmness, understanding, compassion, humility
and common sense. Those qualities should be demonstrated
consistently. For applicants who already hold a judgeship, these
qualities should have consistently manifested themselves to all the
court’s “stakeholders” interacting with the judge regardless of
station in life, profession, type of case, representation by
counsel or lack thereof
Nigerian judicial officers should imbibe the qualities indicated
above to forestall avoidable face off with members of the Bar.
Without the Bar, there will be no Bench!
We also call on our colleagues to treat judicial officers with
utmost respect and honour as it is not a favour owed, but a duty
incumbent on the lawyer by the Rules of Professional Conduct for
Legal Practitioners in Nigeria. This respect and honour is however
reciprocal.
The Bar and the Bench are one, we may be separate, but we are
equal. Judicial officers are therefore Primus Interpares – First
among equals.
Let us stay in harmony and face our common enemy, which is the
political class that do not want to loose their grip on the
judiciary, despite the unambiguous provisions of section 121(3) of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic Nigerian,1999 (As Amended)
by the 4th alteration, which provides for financial autonomy for
the judiciary at all levels of Government”.
The Statement concluded.
*Calls For Re-Orientation Of The Magistracy Nationwide By
The National Judicial Institute, Says No Bar, No Bench.
The Vanguard for the independence of the Judiciary (V4IJ), a
policy think tank made up of lawyers from across the country who
serve as a watchdog on the independence of the judiciary and its
activities, has condemned the recent excesses of two Magistrates in
Abuja, FCT and Enugu respectively.
The Group in a statement on Saturday morning issued in Benin
City by its President, Douglas Ogbankwa Esq and National Legal
Adviser, Augustine Ike Esq., condemned the overbearing attitude in
court of some magistrates and called on the National Judicial
Institute, the body saddled with the training and re-training of
judicial officers to provide a platform for re-orientation of the
magistracy all across Nigeria.
The Statement Reads in Part, thus:
“The Vanguard for the Independence of the (V4IJ), condemns the
avoidable resort to naked judicial power by a Magistrate in the
FCT, despite entreaties from members of the Bar present, over an
altercation with a lawyer, for which His Worship sent the lawyer to
Prison. It takes two to tango and it is foolhardy for one to say
the lawyer was unruly without being prompted by the magistrate.
The Vanguard also condemns the issuance of a bench warrant for a
lawyer in Enugu, because the lawyer did not appear in court. Power
is nothing without control and the relationship between the Bar and
the Bench is one of the chickens and the egg, as one comes before
the other. You cannot have a chicken before an egg. Judges and
magistrates should not forget that they are still lawyers,who were
recommended by the Bar to the Bench. To this end, judges are
expected to treat lawyers with the utmost respect, with patience
and subdued temperament, which is however covered by the doctrine
of reciprocity.
The Minnesota Bar Association Special Committee in the United
States on the Appointment of Judges stated thus on the
characteristics of a Judicial Officer:
A candidate should exhibit the following aspects of proper
judicial temperament: Patience, open-mindedness, courtesy, tact,
courage, punctuality, firmness, understanding, compassion, humility
and common sense. Those qualities should be demonstrated
consistently. For applicants who already hold a judgeship, these
qualities should have consistently manifested themselves to all the
court’s “stakeholders” interacting with the judge regardless of
station in life, profession, type of case, representation by
counsel or lack thereof
Nigerian judicial officers should imbibe the qualities indicated
above to forestall avoidable face off with members of the Bar.
Without the Bar, there will be no Bench!
We also call on our colleagues to treat judicial officers with
utmost respect and honour as it is not a favour owed, but a duty
incumbent on the lawyer by the Rules of Professional Conduct for
Legal Practitioners in Nigeria. This respect and honour is however
reciprocal.
The Bar and the Bench are one, we may be separate, but we are
equal. Judicial officers are therefore Primus Interpares – First
among equals.
Let us stay in harmony and face our common enemy, which is the
political class that do not want to loose their grip on the
judiciary, despite the unambiguous provisions of section 121(3) of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic Nigerian,1999 (As Amended)
by the 4th alteration, which provides for financial autonomy for
the judiciary at all levels of Government”.
The Statement concluded.