A justice of the Appeal Court, Mr Justice Peter Chudi Obiora has accused some lawyers of being agents of judicial corruption by exploiting their roles as ministers in the temple of justice and their personal relationships with some judex to procure unmerited favourable results in their cases.
According to him this situation has cast the judiciary in a bad light and could be attributed to the gloomy economy of the nation and the undue delay in the dispensation of justice.
Justice Obiora made this assertion in a paper he presented at the ongoing Law Week of the Enugu branch of the Nigerian Bar Association. The paper titled: “The Lawyer at the center of judicial corruption – nagging need for practice reforms” admonished lawyers and all judicial officers ‘to ensure the optimal and efficient performance of the courts by upholding all ethical standards of the legal profession’.
Represented by Honourable Justice H.o. Eya of the Enugu State High Court, he observed that in Nigeria, lawyers were guided by the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession and stressed that the relevant rule applicable to the theme of his paper was Rule 1 which states : A lawyer shall uphold and observe the rule of law, promote and foster the cause of justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and shall not engage in any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner’. The judge deduced that the thrust of the rule was integrity and that the components of integrity were honesty and morality. “A lawyer should always, not only in discharge of his professional duties, act honourably and in a befitting manner in all his endeavours. He must be free from fraud, deceit and falsehood; and must be good and virtuous in behavior and in character”.
“A lawyer should also be humble and show respect to the Court. I must say that humility is not synonymous with timidity or cowardice. Courage is also not synonymous with being cantankerous. A lawyer should neither be timid nor cantankerous. A lawyer must have confidence in his advocatory skills”
On the issue of bribery and corruption of judiciary officers, he noted with emphasis that the image of the judiciary was too important to a democratic society to allow it to be prejudiced or tarnished in any way by any ill-motivated or ill-conceived act of impropriety by any member of our legal profession. Justice Obiora described corruption as a cancer that tarnishes, desecrates and disfigures the solemn, sacred and beautiful image of justice and the judiciary.
To members of the Magistracy and the Bench, he warned that too much fraternization with lawyers at social events and attending their functions could be counterproductive. “There is nothing ordinarily wrong with that but sometimes there is more than meets the eye. A discerning judex should be circumspect in the number of social events he attends because such over familiarity beclouds your sense of fairness and impartiality as in most cases you find yourself beholden to the lawyer and want to favour him”.
“A judex should not put himself in a position where rather than on merit, he is influenced by a sense of loyalty or obligation to favour a lawyer. While not as overt as direct bribery, it is also corruption which can be equally damaging to the integrity of the judicial process” he concluded.
For the way forward, Justice Obiora advocated and called for reforms to cleanse the judiciary. He pointed out that just as the National Judicial Council sanctions erring judges when petitioned against and found guilty, the Nigerian Bar association at various levels have a role to play in the restoration of value and ethical standards by ensuring the strict enforcement of the rules of The Code of Conduct for Legal Practitioners. “The NBA must commit to revisiting and reinforcing these rules of Professional Ethics and Conducts, regularly”, he advised.
In his opening address at the ceremony, the Chairman of Enugu Bar Association, Barrister V. C. Odo said that the law week presented a refreshing opportunity ‘for us as lawyer to look at ourselves and our society in the mirror and make some determinations regarding what is reflected about us”. That reason was behind the choice of the theme: Good governance and Socio-economic stability: The imperative of the Rule of law in Nigeria.
Also in an address, the Chair of the ENBAR Law Week, Professor Joy Ezeilo, SAN ably represented by Prof. Osita Nnamani Ogbu, observed that the discussion themes for the 2024 Law Week would thoroughly examine the role of the rule of law in fostering good governance and socio-economic stability. She observed that “an effective rule of law promotes respect for citizens’ fundamental rights, diminishes corruption, alleviates poverty and disease, and safeguards people from human insecurity and injustices”.
The Chief Judge of Ebonyi State, Justice Elvis Ngene who chaired the opening ceremony thanked the ENBAR for the honour done him by the invitation. He observed that the theme of the Week was very apt as ‘there is impunity everywhere and no more rule of law’. He said that the week-long activities were to enable lawyers look inwards to find out how we have fared. Justice Ngene urged the senior lawyers to mentor the young and junior ones into living exemplary lives as lawyers through good practice.
The occasion was attended by some justices of Enugu High Court which included the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice A.R. Ozoemena, Justice C. A Ogbuabor, Ph.D, Justice Anike, Justice Oluedo among others.
The week will end on Friday 6th December, 2024 with a Charity visitation and a Dinner and Award night at the Amadeo Events Center to be chaired by Chief Nnia Nwodo, former President, Ohaneze Ndigbo.
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