Panelists at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference have said that, for efficient justice delivery, the salaries of judges in Nigeria must be improved and increased.
This was stated at the Tuesday’s plenary session titled “Efficient Justice Delivery: A Review of the Outcomes of the Justice Sector Summit”
Speaking on the outcome of the Summit, Mrs Funke Adekoya, SAN said that she believes that the summit has not yet achieved its objective because the resolutions are yet to be implemented.
“I believe that the summit has not yet achieved its objective”, she said.
Adekoya noted that all deliberations at the Summit which include: appointment based on merit, transparency in planning and budgeting, efficiency of the administration of the courts and better renumeration for judges, should all be properly implemented.
Speaking on the effectiveness of judges in delivering better judgement, Hon. Justice Enenche Eleojo, Judge of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja said that appointment of judges must be taken very seriously which must be done rigorously and based on merit rather than politically done.
Mrs Funke also spoke on the delay in justice delivery in Nigeria. She said that lawyers and Judges should sit together and proffer solution to whatever is causing the delay.
“The lawyers felt judges were the cause of the delay and also the judges felt the lawyers were the cause of the delay. Lawyers and Judges should sit together to discuss how to go about it”, she said.
Hon. Justice Kashim Zannah noted that judicial appointment is not to be jettisoned as all hope is not lost.
Zannah also said that the administration of justice should be professionalized and that there should be an independent judiciary.
On the appointment of Judges, Enenche reiterated that professionals should be given the responsibility. The Chief Judge must be carefully appointed and appointment should not be successive-based but must be worked for.
All the panelists commended the effort of the present administration of the NBA for initiating and developing the Court Monitoring System as a way of curbing the excesses and advised that it should be continued by the incoming administration.