Stakeholders has urged the National Judicial Council (NJC), National Judicial Institute (NJI) and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to propose amendments to the existing legislative framework to address appointment process of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and for the states.
  
They made this recommendation, yesterday, in Abuja during the official presentation of Civil Society’s Monitoring Mechanism for Nigeria’s Implementation of United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
  
The mechanism was developed by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch (CeFTIW), with support from the MacArthur Foundation, to guide the assessment of Nigeria’s implementation of the UNCAC.
  
According to them, the AGF and states’ attorneys-generals being appointees of the executive arm of government forces a constraint on their neutrality, independence and effectiveness, and called for a process review.
  
Speaking on adoption of measures to strengthen the integrity of judicial officers, Executive Director of CeFTIW, Umar Yakubu, regretted inconsistent implementation and enforcement of measures and a commitment to upholding ethical standards within the judiciary.
  
Canvassing prosecution of defaulters, he urged the body to prioritise regulatory reforms within the bar to curb malpractices, acknowledging that an under-regulated bar contributes to professional misconduct.
  
According to him, there is a high level of negative perception of the judiciary being infiltrated by the political class to undermine its independence, lamenting that the under-regulation of NBA was giving room for the high rate of corrupt-related activities linked to legal practitioners.
  
Yakubu urged the NJC to implement targeted measures to enhance the independence of the judiciary by strengthening regulatory mechanisms, particularly within the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) and the NBA, to address allegations of corruption against members of the bar over the next 12 months.
  
He also called on the body to develop and enforce clear procedures for dealing with infractions by judicial officers, to ensure a more robust and transparent process.
  
CeFTIW Programme Officer, Tamara Berepubo, explained that the monitoring template would highlight the achievements, challenges, and provide concrete and actionable recommendations to address them.