Elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark has asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Olukayode Ariwoola to reorganise the Judiciary.
Clark in a open letter made available to LEADERSHIP, asked the Chief Justice to carry out reforms that will address challenges including restructuring and repositioning of the National Judicial Council, Judicial Services Commission.
Clark, who is also a lawyer of 59 years, said, “My Lord, I have decided to write this open letter to your Lordship as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) because the alleged corruption and the malpractices in the Judiciary amounting to the naked abuse of the office can no longer be tolerated because it is a big dent to the image of the noble profession to which we all belonged.”
The Niger Delta leader, who apologised “for any inconveniences and embarrassment” the letter might cause, however recounted that he had written an open letter in 2011 to the then Chief Justice Justice Dahiru Musdapher on concerns within the judiciary, Senator Adamu Muhammed Bulkachuwa’s irresponsible, callous and mischievous statement,
Clark, who decried the state of affairs in the judiciary, cited the inhumane treatment meted to the former CJN, Justice Walter Onoghen; the illegal raiding of Judges Houses in the mid night; socialisation between the Judiciary and some senators who are facing criminal charges; and conflicting judgements by same courts in different states of the country.
Clark also refereed to the recent comments of retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Adamu Dattijo, who, in his valedictory speech, said unwholesome practices have compromised the judiciary in Nigeria.
Clark said, “I have seen the Judiciary and the legal profession at its best. It was the pride of the then legal practitioners and the most revered Justices of the various courts of Nigeria and the posture of our most revered
Justices that attracted some of us to study law in the United Kingdom.”
He continued, “As a result of recent painful events in the Judiciary and in the Bar, I am compelled to write this second open letter to your Lordship in my usual character to sound a note of warning to the Judiciary and the Bar.”
Challenging the Chief Justice to reform the judiciary, Clark reminded Ariwoola how he and 14 other justices of the apex court in a wrote a protest letter in 2022 over the welfare of justices.
Clark said, “In a first-of-its-kind protest letter in the 58-year history of the apex court, the justices chronicled the operational challenges that have almost crippled the efficient adjudication of cases at the court…
“My Lord, who led the Supreme Court Judges in the historic petition or memorandum is now in the saddle as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), and you have every authority and responsibility to correct these grave anomalies in the above historic letter written by the Hon. Justices of the Supreme Court under your leadership as was done by your former colleague, Justice Dahiru Musdapher….
“I repeat, as Chief Justice of Nigeria, you have every authority to reorganize the Judiciary.
“It has also been reported in the news media that the current CJN appears disinterested even when there is a report with which he can institute the reform. Even I gathered from the media that Your Lordship dislikes public opinion and demonstration by Civil Right Organizations, and other respected public opinions should not influence the Judges in their deliberation which is contradictory to the views held by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher.
“This is the main reason I have decided to write this open letter to Your Lordship because I believe and confident that Your Lordship can do it as it was done by your former predecessor in office,” Clark said.
