SANs, activist, others task Kekere-Ekun on judicial reforms

Eminent Nigerians have advised the incoming Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to initiate reforms that would redeem and restore the glory of the nation’s judiciary within the first six months of assuming office.

Speakers, who gave the task during a roundtable discussion, including two professors of Law, Ernest Ojukwu (SAN) and Samuel Erugo (SAN); foremost female human rights activist, Aisha Yesufu, as well as leaders of some civil society organisations (CSOs), predicated their advice because Kekere-Ekun is assuming the helms of affairs “at a time the judiciary is confronting far-reaching challenges to its authority and reputation.

The event was organised by TAP Initiative for Citizens Development, in collaboration with the Network of University Legal Aid Initiative (NULAI).In his opening remarks, Executive Director of Tap Initiative for Citizens Development, Martin Obono, said that the “institutional credibility of the judicial branch in Nigeria had never been lower in public esteem.”

said while Kekere-Ekun is coming at a very critical and challenging period of the judiciary, the situation offers her an opportunity to articulate an agenda for reforms to restore public trust and confidence in the judicial sector.

On her part, Yesufu called on 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. She also called for the introduction of a mechanism for increased financial transparency, accountability and public reporting to restore public trust.

Meanwhile, a member of the Garki branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Folarin Aluko, urged the new CJN to urgently tackle the incidence of conflicting judgments and abuse of interim injunctions.

“There should be clear practice directions on the 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.