NJC’s Accountability System Weak And Outdated — Access To Justice Writes CJN

*Asks NJC To Establish Whistle-blower Policy To Attract Confidential Information About Conduct Of Tribunal Judges
A Civil Society Organisation, Access to Justice has written the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola over the current dispensation of election litigation and the conduct of Judges.
In an open letter by its Convener, Joseph Otteh, the organisation informed the CJN of dwindling public trust in the judiciary amidst the plurality of scandals and controversies which has riddled election adjudication in the most recent past.
In the letter, the Group expressed concern that despite the high incidence of corruption associated with different cycles of electoral adjudication, the judiciary has not taken steps to strengthen the ethical framework for electoral disputes adjudication.
The group referenced an ICPC recent report indicting the judiciary of massive corruption, and a plethora of convictions by the NJC as indications that there are ethical flaws and an integrity bankruptcy in the judiciary which must be conscientiously addressed.
“Your Lordship, Access to Justice is concerned that, in spite of the unacceptably high incidence of corruption associated with different cycles of electoral adjudication in Nigeria, the Judiciary has not taken extra steps to strengthen the ethical framework for electoral dispute adjudication. Additionally, there is wide public perception (including those of highly respected jurists) that election dispute resolutions create avenues for the trafficking of massive amounts of money, with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC), saying in a recent study that over nine (9) billion Naira was offered to Judges (most of whom handled election petitions) within a space of three years.
The NJC’s own disciplinary records, as well as those of anti-corruption agencies bear out the extraordinary incidence of corruption associated with the determination of electoral disputes. From publicly available records, more than fifteen (15) Judges and Justices of courts have been arrested/investigated, convicted or sanctioned for election determination misconduct, many of which relate to corruption, and Your Lordship would of course note the embarrassment which such scandals inflict on the Judiciary itself.”
The letter also stressed that part of the problem faced by the Judiciary in tackling perennial corruption is that the NJC’s accountability system for Judges is generally weak and outdated, and does not meet the exigencies of safeguarding the integrity of the judiciary at periods like this.
“Neither the NJC’s Code of Judicial Conduct (CJC) nor the Judicial Discipline Regulations, as experience has shown, have effectively deterred Judges from engaging in corrupt practices because they miss a vital link to fighting corruption, which is “detecting” it. They also do not promote the role of the public in fighting judicial misconduct. The NJC’s overall strategy for fighting judicial corruption and the policies in place for accomplishing that mission are, therefore, not creative and good accelerators for winning the struggle, much less for maintaining the integrity of the electoral justice delivery process.
Your Lordship, we are concerned that the Judiciary has not taken extra steps to plug the gaps and tighten the spaces that facilitate misconduct by election petition Judges/Justices. Judicial oversight authorities have not strengthened their monitoring and oversight mechanisms or supplemented available judicial safeguards with new effective tools/policies even at this critical time when so much is hanging on the Judiciary for resolution. Given escalating tensions and the fragility of Nigeria’s political atmosphere at this time, some Judges may, by their misconduct, place Nigeria’s democracy in more portentous danger if the NJC is unable to exercise better control of their conduct in adjudicating electoral cases.”
The Group warned that perverting the electoral adjudication process has grave consequences, not only for the democratic system, but also for the constitutional role reserved for courts in preserving it. It added that the Judiciary’s failure or inability to ascertain and vindicate the democratic choices made by electors can destabilize political society.
In view of its concerns, the Group listed its recommendations as follows:
1. The NJC needs to harden/solidify its opposition to political interference with the electoral justice process. In the past, the NJC maintained silence in the face of (credible) allegations of influential politicians trying to influence Judges who preside over election petitions, even in the Supreme Court. It is public record that a serving Supreme Court Justice made such an allegation not too long ago but the Judiciary/NJC did nothing about it. The Judiciary’s failure to expose and criminally deal with the interference with the judicial process is, respectfully, both wrong and counter-productive. It sends the wrong message to judicial officers and encourages silence over such overtures. Such silence compromises judicial standards of transparency, impartiality and objective fairness. The NJC must provide new Guidelines for election petition tribunals and courts to require Judges to expose efforts by anyone to interfere with the trial of election petition tribunals and to make criminal complaints of such attempts to crime investigation agencies.
2. The NJC must create a strong whistle-blower policy designed to attract confidential information about the conduct of election petition Judges. The NJC’s current disciplinary system is an insular, author-reveal and petition-based one, which does not offer spaces for public-spirited persons to support the fight against corruption by sending confidential/anonymous information touching on the conduct of Judges to the Council. Additionally, the NJC must place Judges and Justices of election courts, as well as tribunal staff under a duty to report suspicious activities they observe in the course of their official business and make it an act of misconduct where they do not. In fighting corruption, everyone must be each other’s keeper.
3. The NJC must also now prohibit Judges and Justices of election tribunals from communicating and interacting with government officials in whose jurisdictions those petitions are taking place, as well as meeting so-called “Judicial Consultants”, often retained by political actors to buy influences with election petition Judges. The NJC must place Judges under a mandatory duty to report and register any ex-facie communication with parties interested in the outcomes of cases being heard, even where they take place unexpectedly, characterizing the failure to make such reports an act of serious misconduct.”
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