Although like the Chief Justice Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola who at the last conferment ceremony of Senior Advocates of Nigeria scored the judiciary very high, a retired Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Buba followed suit at a recent judicial accountability conference, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) maintains that corruption is widespread in the Nigerian judiciary.
Justice Buba in his Keynote address titled ROLE OF JUDICIARY, JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC TRUST IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM asserted that: “No amount of Judicial Activism by the judges can better a society if the political class are not willing to play by the rules of the game, according to the constitution of their parties enacted by them and given to themselves, a fotiori the constitution of Nigeria.
However, a representative of the UNODC, Melissa Omene, at the event last Friday at Abuja disclosed that a 2019 survey which was conducted by the UNODC and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) “found that 20 per cent of those who had contact with the Nigerian judiciary were confronted with a request for the payment of a bribe.
“Indeed, corruption in the Nigerian judiciary is extensive and both male and female judges are party to it.”
In a comparative analysis of the matter in question, Omene stated that a UNODC study on gender and corruption in 2020, revealed that “male judges are far more likely to be involved in bribe-seeking conduct than their female colleagues.”
The study said corruption amongst judicial officers had eroded “public confidence in the judiciary.” (LawandSocietyMagazine)
