Vice President Osinbajo has urged stakeholders in the judiciary sector to work hard in reversing the negative perception about justice delivery in the country.
In the same vein, Osinbajo stressed the need for the transformation of judiciary in the country, calling for creation of a benchmark in the salaries of judicial officers and that of the legislators, explaining that it would bring an end to the perennial disputes among the two other arms of government.
Osinbajo spoke at the Justice Sector Summit organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other stakeholders, with the theme “Devising Practical Solutions Towards Improved Performance, Enhanced Accountability and Independence in the Justice Sector”.
According to Osinbajo, the reputation of the Nigerian judicial system which has repeatedly resulted in what the UK Court of Appeal described as “catastrophic delays” must be reversed, noting that expeditious delivery of justice cannot wait any longer.
“We can do better. We have to do better. Our problems are ours, not for spirits, to solve. We must be deliberate in our approach. We must rediscover those attributes that made Nigeria’s judiciary a supplier of high caliber judicial personnel to other countries on the continent.
“Devising workable solutions to the problem of delays in the justice delivery system and the implementation of a court monitoring scheme are the remaining areas of focus.”
While also speaking at the event, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), called for more transparency and openness in the administration of the budgets of both the judiciary and legislature.
The AGF, who was responding to questions at the opening plenary, noted that the judiciary has consistently lamented poor funding, adding that there must be transparency and accountability.
“The same way that the executive opens its books for public scrutiny, the same way the legislators and the judiciary should open theirs.”
