Strong Judiciary, Media Critical To Nigeria’s Survival — Judge, SANs

Some judicial and media experts on Thursday said that Nigeria’s democracy can only thrive if critical institutions like the judiciary, media and security agencies are strong and free from political interferences.

They also tasked President Bola Tinubu to build solid and well-funded institutions rather than rely on strong men as the hallmark of his administration.

These views was expressed by the experts at the 2023 Annual Lecture of the National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC), which has as its theme “Birthing a new Nigeria: Role of the Judiciary, Security Agencies and the Media in a Democratic Society”.

Those who spoke at the event included retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), Abiodun Olatunji (SAN) and a former Editor of The Nation newspaper, Lekan Otunfodunrin.

The guest speaker, Olatunji, who delivered a paper on the theme, emphasised the importance of the Judiciary in a democracy.

He identified several fundamental issues the government must resolve for the judiciary to become strong and independent.

These included the merit-based appointment of justices/judges, security of justices/judges’ tenures, establishment/strengthening of state judicial councils, improved welfare of judicial officers, sustenance of Judicial financial autonomy, while intimidation if judges must end

Justice Taiwo agreed with him, stating that poor remuneration for retired justices is a problem, particularly for federal judges.

He revealed that his total pension as a retired justice is below N500,000, an amount inadequate to meet his needs in the current poor economy.

Justice Taiwo said: “Federal judges are badly treated after retirement, compared to state judges. Lagos State has tried for retired judges, Lagos gives retired judges allowances for life, buys them cars, and sends them gifts as if they’re in service.

“My take home every month is less than N500,000.”

He also emphasised the importance of the press in everyday life.

Justice Taiwo said, “We owe a lot to journalists because the government sometimes has to read (the papers) and come to terms with what the people are thinking, and they can’t get the people’s feelings unless they read the papers and listen to the news. It is from there they’ll gauge the tempo in the society.

“Unfortunately, in most cases, government don’t care. Whether the tempo is high or the country is in flames, they don’t care; they do what they want. History will judge everyone, including the governed and the government.”

On his part, Oyeyipo also made a case for strengthening the judiciary, noting that it was critical to a constitutional democracy.

“There can’t be a democracy without the judiciary,” he said.

Otunfodunrin harped on the need for the executive to understand the separation of powers, saying it is a critical distinguishing factor between a democracy and a military regime.

Earlier, NAJUC chairman Peter Fowoyo emphasised the importance of critical sectors to fulfil their constitutional roles in the country’s interest.

Fowoyo said: “To birth a new Nigeria, therefore, the judiciary, the security agencies and the media must not only identify their roles and play it accordingly, but they must also work together for the betterment of all Nigerians.

The event also features the installation of Mr Olatunji as a patron of NAJUC and Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN) as a grand patron by Justice Taiwo.