Funding Is Major Problem Of The Nigerian Judiciary — Etiaba, SAN

*Says Corruption in the judiciary borne out of pressure from
politicians

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Etiaba, has said that
the major problem of the judiciary is funding.

Etiaba, in an interview with the Sunday
Sun,^[1] said the
autonomy of the judiciary should be respected including their
finances. Thus, their budgets should not be tampered with.

“Funding, funding is the first problem. We need to allow the
judiciary; the constitution has stated there should be independence
of the judiciary. The independence actually also extended to their
finances. Let the judiciary take their monies from the coffers, not
from the executives direct. Secondly, the state assembly or the
national assembly must make sure the judiciary budgets are not
tampered with. These are not things you should tamper with, they
are necessary, they are not luxury issues. He said

Furthermore, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria who happens to be
the People Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant for the
November 6 election in Anambra State, also faulted the mode of
appointment of judges. According to him, is on reward basis instead
of merit. He added that corruption in the judiciary is borne out of
pressure from politicians. He pledged to put a stop to it when
elected.

He said, “The judiciary has a major issue. The mode of
appointment t of judicial officers where people believe it’s a
reward scheme, shouldn’t be like that. We must make sure that
people who are qualified get into the judiciary. The institution
where you have old people in their 60s becoming judges that do not
mean well for our people. When the people we are actually competing
with send their own at 35 and 40s they have produced judges by the
time they are 45, 50, they are in the Supreme Court.

Our people go to Supreme Court, stay two, three months and
retire. It doesn’t make sense. I will make sure that the pressure
that judicial officers receive especially from politicians because
when you talk of corruption in the judiciary sometimes it is borne
out of pressure from the politicians. You noticed that most times
those of us who are lawyers and active litigation lawyers, you find
out that discordant judgments mainly prevail in political cases,
when you talk about commercial and issues that relate to
non-political matters the judgment comes out strong, but when it
comes to political judgments anything can go because there’s too
much pressure.

The “pressure’ is not necessarily money, money. if I have a
friend that I believe that I’m instrumental to his elevation and
the person is adjudicating in the matter I have interest, once I
start calling the judge to please do it this way, that pressure is
actually more deadly than money.

So, as a governor, I will make sure that the judiciary is
shielded from such influence and the way to shield the judiciary
from such influence is by making sure that no one man will claim
the glory that a judicial officer was appointed based on his
recommendation. Again, if their condition of service is improved
then they are likely not to go for bribes. I have often said that
we say that judicial officers should not take bribe, but again, the
condition of service makes it impossible for them not to take
bribes. These are things we will look into and make sure thing go
right.”

*Says Corruption in the judiciary borne out of pressure from
politicians

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Etiaba, has said that
the major problem of the judiciary is funding.

Etiaba, in an interview with the Sunday
Sun,^[1] said the
autonomy of the judiciary should be respected including their
finances. Thus, their budgets should not be tampered with.

“Funding, funding is the first problem. We need to allow the
judiciary; the constitution has stated there should be independence
of the judiciary. The independence actually also extended to their
finances. Let the judiciary take their monies from the coffers, not
from the executives direct. Secondly, the state assembly or the
national assembly must make sure the judiciary budgets are not
tampered with. These are not things you should tamper with, they
are necessary, they are not luxury issues. He said

Furthermore, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria who happens to be
the People Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant for the
November 6 election in Anambra State, also faulted the mode of
appointment of judges. According to him, is on reward basis instead
of merit. He added that corruption in the judiciary is borne out of
pressure from politicians. He pledged to put a stop to it when
elected.

He said, “The judiciary has a major issue. The mode of
appointment t of judicial officers where people believe it’s a
reward scheme, shouldn’t be like that. We must make sure that
people who are qualified get into the judiciary. The institution
where you have old people in their 60s becoming judges that do not
mean well for our people. When the people we are actually competing
with send their own at 35 and 40s they have produced judges by the
time they are 45, 50, they are in the Supreme Court.

Our people go to Supreme Court, stay two, three months and
retire. It doesn’t make sense. I will make sure that the pressure
that judicial officers receive especially from politicians because
when you talk of corruption in the judiciary sometimes it is borne
out of pressure from the politicians. You noticed that most times
those of us who are lawyers and active litigation lawyers, you find
out that discordant judgments mainly prevail in political cases,
when you talk about commercial and issues that relate to
non-political matters the judgment comes out strong, but when it
comes to political judgments anything can go because there’s too
much pressure.

The “pressure’ is not necessarily money, money. if I have a
friend that I believe that I’m instrumental to his elevation and
the person is adjudicating in the matter I have interest, once I
start calling the judge to please do it this way, that pressure is
actually more deadly than money.

So, as a governor, I will make sure that the judiciary is
shielded from such influence and the way to shield the judiciary
from such influence is by making sure that no one man will claim
the glory that a judicial officer was appointed based on his
recommendation. Again, if their condition of service is improved
then they are likely not to go for bribes. I have often said that
we say that judicial officers should not take bribe, but again, the
condition of service makes it impossible for them not to take
bribes. These are things we will look into and make sure thing go
right.”