Buhari to reorganise judiciary for anti-corruption war

• Onnoghen canvasses special training for judges

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed plans to reorganise the country’s judiciary to fortify the war against corruption.

He spoke yesterday during a joint press conference with the Namibian leader, Mr. Hage Geingob, after a closed-door session at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Specifically, under the reorganisation plan for the sector, the president said some judges would be dedicated to deal with corruption cases where all those found wanting in their dealings would be prosecuted.

“We are willing but it is very difficult under this multi-party democratic system. We are getting the cooperation of countries.

“We are trying to sell the assets wherever we found them and bring the money into the Nigerian treasury. This is all I can say at this stage because we are reorganising the judiciary,” Buhari said.

Geingob thanked the Nigerian government for the support to Namibia, including the deployment of Nigerian volunteers under the Technical Aid Corps to his country.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has canvassed continuous training for judges in maritime sector to enable them handle technical matters for efficient operations in the industry.

He stressed the crucial role of the maritime sector in the nation’s economy, and called for efficient use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms which, he noted, has a proven record of expeditious resolution of maritime cases.

The CJN spoke on Tuesday at the15th International Maritime seminar for judges. The three-day event was in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI).

Justice Onnoghen, who said he had to shelve an originally scheduled meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC), declared that judiciary had played its constitutional role in the growth of maritime industry.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said that considering the fundamental role of the maritime sector in facilitating conduct of global trade and commerce, there was need for requisite human capacity to take advantage of opportunities in the sector.