Heavens won’t fall if you take bold decisions, CJN to judges
- The Nigerian judiciary has come under intense pressure in the last few months
- Critics say the delay in major court cases is a creation of the justice system and by extension judges
- Judges and other judicial officials have been advised by Justice Walter Onnoghen to change the status quo
- He added that the judiciary will continue to do its best to ensure it remain the arbiter between the other two arms of government and the citizenzry
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, on Tuesday, June 19, charged judges and other judicial officers in the country to take bold decisions without minding whose ox is gored in the process.
Onnoghen gave the charge at the swearing in ceremony of Justice Abdu Adamu Kafarati as the substantive Chief Judge of Federal High Court.
He said the judiciary would stand behind any judicial officer hounded for taking bold and courageous decisions that have constitutional backing.
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According to him, the judiciary would remain an arbiter between executive and legislative arms of government.
His words: “Don’t run away from your responsibility, remain courageous and firm. Since God has made it possible for you to be in this position, do what you have to do at the right time. Be bold and courageous. The heavens did not fall in times of old and it will not fall now.
“So I urge you as the Chief Judge as well as all other judicial officers to take decisions, heavens will not fall. The Nigerian judiciary will always do the best to ensure that we remain the arbiter between the other two arms of government and the citizenry.”
Maintaining that the swearing-in of Justice Kafarati will bring stability at the Federal High Court, the CJN, urged the new CJ to respect his oath of office.
He said: “I don’t have to remind you of the oath you have just taken. That oath has been your life since you became a judicial officer. You have no other constituency, so continue to abide by it."
READ ALSO: LIST: 6 former Nigerian governors convicted for corruption
Meanwhile, a high court in Owerri, the Imo state capital, has sentenced Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), to prison custody.
The court order, which was served on the police last Thursday, June 14, signed by J.C. Okoro Esq. and dated Wednesday, June 6, indicates that Uwazuruike will be in prison custody for one month for contempt of court.
Ex-prisoner turns advocate for release of former inmates on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
