Need for Urgent Judicial Reforms as Justice Kekere-ekun Takes Over as CJN

Alex Enumah writes on the need for urgent and genuine reforms to restore and reposition the judiciary as the last hope of the common man as Justice Kudirat Kekere-ekun takes over as Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Barring any last minute change or extraneous variables, Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-ekun will on Thursday,  August 22, 2024 assume duty as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), in acting capacity, pending her confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. This is following her nomination last week by the National Judicial Council (NJC). Justice Kekere-ekun is the second most senior justice in the bench of the Supreme Court and going by principles and policies, she is expected to take over from Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who bows out of office upon attaining the compulsory retirement age of 70 years, on August 22, 2024.

In order to avoid any vacuum, the NJC last week nominated her to the president for appointment as CJN. If her appointment sails through, she will be the second female after Justice Mariam Aloma Muktar to assume thst office. She will also be one of the longest serving CJN of recent due to her age. The 66 years old, who was elevated to the bench of the apex court as the fifth female Justice of the Supreme Court on July 8, 2013, no doubt is expected to bring to bear her experiences both in the private and public sector in turning around the negative image of the judiciary.

The University of Lagos Law graduate and 1981 Class of the Nigerian Law School, was in private practice from 1985 till 1989, when she was appointed a Senior Magistrate Grade II, Lagos State Judiciary. She became a Judge of the High Court of Lagos State on July 19, 1996 and elevated to the Court of Appeal on September 22, 2004, before ascending the bench of the apex court in 2013.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-ekun served as Chairman, Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos from November 1996 to May 1999. A life Bencher, a member of the International Association of Women Judges, Kekere-ekun has attended numerous courses and seminars within and outside Nigeria and also received several merit awards.

If her appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Justice Kekere-ekun would have four years to navigate the ship of justice to an enviable height. This task frankly, may look like an impossible mission, especially, if she is not fully prepared or ready to take decisive actions irrespective of whose ox is gored. The true picture of the judiciary which Kekere-ekun is inheriting today was best painted by Mr Ebun Sofunde (SAN) last year during a remark on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN).

The senior lawyer had said the reputation of the judiciary “is at an all-time low, to a point where it may no longer be redeemable”.

Also speaking on Tuesday in Abuja, some concerned Nigerians observed that Justice Kekere-ekun is assuming the helms of affairs “at a time when the judiciary confronts far-reaching challenges to its authority and reputation”.

This discussants were simply of the opinion that if Kekere-ekun must succeed and make any meaningful impact, she must have to initiate reforms that would redeem and restore the glory of the nation’s judiciary within the first six months of assuming office.

In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of Tap Initiative for Citizens Development, Mr Martin Obono, pointed out that the “institutional credibility of the judicial branch in Nigeria has never been lower in public esteem”. He stated that while Kekere-ekun is coming at a very critical and challenging period of the judiciary, the situation offers her an opportunity to articulate agenda for judicial reforms in order to restore public trust and confidence in the judiciary.

“As an organization and individuals, we seek to contribute to the distillation of this agenda”, Obono said. The core issues listed for Kekere-ekun to kickstart urgent and genuine reforms include; judicial appointments, conflicting judgements and abuse of interim injunctions, discipline and accountability, election petitions and political cases and the Supreme Court.

Speaking on the issue of judicial appointment, Obono, observed that the National Judicial Council (NJC), which overseas the appointment of judges have of recent come under heavy criticism, especially with the outgoing CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, accused of nepotism and favouritism. While alleging that the Council disregarded its guidelines over recent appointments, Obono said report revealed that in one instance the NJC appointed “a candidate who scored zero in the NJC interview”.

He therefore urged the new CJN, “to commit explicitly to a policy of restoring integrity and merit to judicial appointments”, stating that achieving this would entail the introduction of transparent processes of selection, advertisement of judicial vacancies, as well as in nomination of candidates, interview, short listing and selections.

Obono also stated that by reinforcing merit-based selection and transparency,the judiciary can address past shortcomings and work towards a more just and equitable legal system that upholds the democratic values enshrined in the constitution.

It was the opinion of the group that Kekere-ekun, would do well to quickly nip in the bud, the menace of conflicting judgements and abuse of interim injunctions, which has brought immense ridicule of the bench, leading to the flagrant disobedience of court orders. A member of the Garki branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Folarin Aluko, who also spoke on the issue said addressing the issue would restore public trust and ensure judicial efficiency. While observing that there are standards governing the issuance of interim injunctions, Aluko lamented that these standards and guidelines “are often either disregarded or abused without consequences”.

To arrest the situation, he suggested that priority should be given to monitoring and reporting any interim or exparte order issued by trial judges, adding that there should be a clear consequences attached to a breach of Rule 3(3.5) of the Judicial Code of Conduct. “There should be a clear practice directions on management of territorial jurisdiction overlaps. It is suggested for this purpose that the structure and scope of such overlaps be agreed at the All Nigerian Conference of Judges and the Practice Directions should be uniform across all the court systems in the country”, he said.

On the issue of discipline and accountability, it was the consensus of discussants that unless this new leadership severely punish act of judicial misconduct, the judiciary would continue to descend into the abyss. Rights activist, Mrs Aisha Yesufu, in buttressing claim of decadence and rot cited a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which puts the judiciary as the highest receiver of bribe, ahead of the police and customs.

While she called for the introduction of a mechanism for increased financial transparency, accountability and public reporting so as to restore public trust, Yesufu charged the incoming CJN to “initiate public consultation to announce within six months of assumption of office, measures designed to address the escalating patterns of judicial corruption as documented by the UNODC -NBS Corruption in Nigeria Report 2024”.

Besides, the female activist stressed that disciplinary processes should be “both prompt and decisive and dispositions or punishment should be calibrated to be proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct found”.

Another priority area Justice Kekere-ekun should shift attention to, in order to make a difference, is the handling of election petitions and political cases. Discussants lamented that the volume of election petitions has become an adverse charge on the credibility of the judiciary and a burden borne mostly by ordinary litigants who have no election or political business.

The discussants agreed that it was high time, election petitions were taking away from the dockets of the courts, and called for the implementation of the recommendations of the Babalakin Commission and the Uwais Panel recommendations concerning the need for courts to support the will of the people in election and / or ensure the ascertainment of such will so that it can be protected.

It was also argued that to end the inordinate political investment in election petitions, election petitions must be disposed of promptly and fairly and that no elected person should assume office until a tribunal or court is done with petitions challenging their election. “The current practice whereby candidates are sworn in despite pending petitions against them is one of the bane of judicial capture”, they said.

Another area the incoming CJN could quickly impact upon the job of her colleagues at the apex court is to pursue the streamlining of cases that gets to their dockets.

According to the Executive Director of Digicivic Initiative, Mojirayo Ogunlana, due to the fact that almost all cases must get to the Supreme Court the court’s docket has “become ungovernable and the average duration for resolving non-political or non-electoral appeals to run over one decade”. She however, noted that reforming the Supreme Court of Nigeria would necessitate both structural and procedural enhancements to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

Ogunlana, therefore, said the changes required would entail leadership from the CJN as well as cooperation with the elected branches of government, especially the National Assembly.

According to her: “The National Assembly should review and re-enact the Supreme Court Act and amend the constitution to limit the kind of cases or appeals that can be introduced to the Supreme Court. This amendment should enable the Supreme Court to set up a threshold admissibility competence by which it can decline appeals that are unsuitable, unmeritorious, or which merely involve already settled principles of law”.

Whether the new CJN will consider the agenda set for her, is a decision for her alone to make. However, it would be in the interest and joy of all to have a judiciary that serves justice judicially and justiciably, at the end of her tenure in 2028.