The Fight Against Corrupt Practices In The Judiciary: A Critical Look At The Magistrate Courts In Lagos By Bayo Akinlade, Esq.

Introduction:
I began this crusade last year as part of my contribution to the anti-corruption war. Recently a lot of people that follow my face book page have asked why I have been quiet lately and my response is simple: This war against corruption is complex; it is close to home because WE ALL (including me) have fallen short.

I have had to RE-consider what corruption really means in our culture as Nigerians – I can tell you straight away that what 1st world countries consider as corruption is not necessarily what we Nigerians consider as corruption thus the difficulty in promoting an attitude change which is the greatest weapon against corruption in our polity, is evident in every area of our engagement with the public, stakeholders and government authorities.

The Magistrate Court in Lagos and Challenges in Eradicating Corrupt Practices:
While my focus in this exposition is the Magistrate Courts, some of it may apply to all Court structures in Nigeria. I will approach this by stating our weakest points (in no particular order) and proffer possible solutions. The various corrupt acts are well known TO US so we won’t waste time restating them here:

1. JUDICIAL PERSONNEL:
How does the Judiciary employ its personnel/staff? What are the basic requirements for qualification as a Magistrate, Registrar, Secretary, Clerk, IT personnel etc? What structures are in place for oversight, discipline etc? Who decides what, when and how? Answering some of these questions will give us a better understanding of the problem. I have taken the pains to find out the answers to these questions and have come to a part conclusion that NEPOTISM is in play in our Judiciary.

SOLUTION:
a) There is need for a complete review of the internal policies directing the affairs the Judiciary – A comprehensive look at its Modus Operandi. We also need to create multi-level and independent oversight committees made up of people who are elected into such committees (as appointments are no longer tenable in our porous polity.)

b) The State Judicial Service Commissions should be reconstituted. I would suggest strongly that a sitting Chief Judge should not serve on that commission at least not as a principal member but perhaps; as an ex-officio. Members of the Commission must also be elected and not appointed

2. NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND ITS MEMBERS:
It is unfortunate that the NBA and its members is largely the main antagonist to the anti-corruption struggle. YES! We Lawyers are the major detractors. Our refusal to change our attitude is destructive and counter-productive. Some Lawyers are more than happy to give a bribe, but what is more worrisome is that some judicial officers/staff are an extension of particular law firms.

Some Magistrates are silent partners in law firms, some registrars, clerks, sheriffs; prosecutors are contract staff of some law firms. Some lawyers just walk into the registry and pay a registry staff to file his processes, ensure service and do whatever is necessary to bring his file/case before a Magistrate in good time. Some Court officials are paid to inform on which litigant has approached the Court without a lawyer for the purpose OF sourcing litigants while others are paid to cast doubts in the minds of some litigants with lawyers about the ability of their lawyer to do the job so that they can STEAL the brief for their preferred lawyer.
I have painstakingly done my investigations and observed with deep regret the way we lawyers harm each other in this profession.

SOLUTION:
a) NBA needs to re-organize its priorities, act as a safe-guard against corrupt practices by taking out disciplinary actions against lawyers known to undermine the integrity of the Court and abuse their professional calling as Lawyers

b) The NBA must Push for reform in the appointment of Magistrates, insist on transparency in the appointment process and have a sit on every committee established within the Judiciary (it is highly recommended that all Chairmen of Branches are made automatic members of the State Judicial Service Commission)

3. MINISTRY OF JUSTICE/EXECUTIVE/ JUDICIARY INTERFACE:
I discovered that the Ministry of Justice has over 500 lawyers on its pay roll (not to mention the more than 50 lawyers who are Local Council Development Area in-house counsels), they also have quite a few law firms under retainer which makes me wonder why there is never enough funds to employ more magistrates and judges (although judges are not strictly under State government payroll – a discussion for another time). Why should the judiciary in Lagos have less than 300 Judges and Magistrate while the Ministry of Justice (a section of the Executive arm of Government) has over 500? It is further worrisome that the Ministry of Justice has indirectly usurped some of the powers of the Judiciary and in some cases now control the activities of some Courts under the guise of Special Courts. I won’t bother going into the problems relating to the financial independence of the Judiciary or the so called “recommendation” policy/law requiring the Executive and the Legislator to approve a Magistrate or Judge – what has become the norm here is that the politicians have their say and share “slots” thereby compromising and undermining the independence of the Judiciary

SOLUTION
I find it very difficult to proffer a solution here. I must admit that in my vast experience in, exposure to best international practices and my actual presence in over 30 nations (mostly in Africa) Nigeria is not the only country that has this challenge. However, during my visit to a Court in New York, I can take a calculated guess to say that the city of New York alone has at least one Judge to every 5 to 10 lawyers. In a state like Lagos with all the improvements made by the past Governors/Leaders and the current Governor, I find it unacceptable that Judicial Reform is so slow and almost seems non-existent.

The Lagos State Judiciary has no doubt set the pace when it comes to many procedural and law reform techniques that have made things easier for court users but its epileptic relationship with the Executive and sometimes the Legislative arm of governments have stalled the implementation of many excellent ideas for restructuring the Judiciary

My only solution here is to have a dedicated committee of experts to review the current relationship structures, look at areas where the activities of the MOJ interjects or overlaps with that of the Judiciary amongst other politically sensitive areas of interaction

We cannot continue to avoid the touchy issues, we cannot have the attitude of “business as usual”, we cannot sit back and say “I don’t want to offend those in power” those in power sought the votes of the ordinary people on the streets that are mostly affected by an inefficient, corrupt and weakened Judiciary and NBA.

I need to let us know that there are many judicial officers, lawyers and others who are standing their ground against corruption within and outside the system. These people need more support. If you are still on the fence, I appeal to you to be a voice and stand your ground. Report corrupt practices, resist it, insist on prompt and efficient services from the Court registry, don’t be intimidated by anyone and insist on seeing the person in charge if confronted with any unusual demands. The Chief Magistrate and all Magistrates in each magisterial district are equipped to answer all your queries/Complaints – They are your colleagues (if you are a lawyer) and are there to ensure that Justice is done!

FIACIJ is a national watchdog group set up within the Facebook Community to Resist, Record and Report all acts of Corruption within the Judiciary. Its aim is also to proffer policy recommendations that will reduce the scourge of corruption within the most revered arm of Government.