Spearhead social justice, Ford Foundation tells judiciary

As the world marks World International Day for Social Justice, yesterday, the Regional Director, Ford Foundation West Africa, Dr ChiChi Aniagolu, has said the day serves as a reminder that achieving fairness and equity is the bedrock of every society.

According to her, when social justice is compromised, the very fabric of society begins to fail. In Africa, she added, the Executive and the Legislature bore the greater pressure to ensure democracy, good governance and to fight corruption, pointing out that a robust judicial system was equally needed to uphold social justice due to its interpretative, dispute resolution and enforcement roles.

“Yet the judiciary in West Africa is plagued with a myriad of problems, which include inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, political/governmental interference, bribery, and corruption. Biased appointment of judges and unfair removal of sitting judges continue to happen. Sometimes, the judicial system is manipulated to usurp constitutional rule, stifle dissenting groups and gag freedom of expression with political opponents, the Media, and CSOs.

“This is compounded by inadequate legal aid against a backdrop of high legal fees for a sub-region, where over 30 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.”

Rural populations and vulnerable groups in West Africa often face significant barriers to justice, making it seem as though justice is on sale to the highest bidder!”

He said that although the challenges were daunting, they were not insurmountable. “What is required is to reform the judiciary, a strong governmental leadership and commitment to effect the reform, and a civil society courageous to hold the judiciary accountable.”