Eschew misconduct, CJN warns Judges

Th e Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen has warned judges in Nigeria to shun all forms of misconduct, including accepting gratifi cation. He reminded them that as judges, they are expected to live above board in the dispensation of justice. Onnoghen, who said judges play a crucial role in ensuring the fi nancial stability in Nigeria, advised them to work in synergy with regulators of the fi nancial sector to put in place mechanism that would guarantee the safety of deposits and investment of Nigerians.

While speaking at the 2017 sensitization seminar for Federal Capital Territory FCT and state High Court judges, organized by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute in Abuja, the CJN admitted that judges are subject to the same human frailty as all other members of society, but advised them to live above board.

Speaking on the theme: Challenges to Deposit Insurance law and Practice in Nigeria, the CJN said, “although judges are subject to the same human frailty as all other members of society, while at the same time maintaining judicial independence, you must expect your conduct to be the subject of constant public scrutiny. “Various aspects of misconduct, including accepting gratifi cation when such delicate matters touching on deposits and investors funds are before your Lordships, must be avoided.”

According to him, where judges indulge in such acts, the repercussion would be that of placing the wealth of the nation out of reach from regulation and inviting fi nancial collapse of the entire economy. “Th is workshop is evidence that the regulators in the sector recognize the importance of the role played by the judiciary in ensuring system stability in Nigeria. Judges must therefore learn to look beyond narrow interests of claimants and balance same against public interest in having a stable fi nancial system and protecting the interest of depositors,” he said.

Onnoghen added that judges in their adjudication should recognise that fi nancial system stability laws and policy have clear objectives for the prevention of fi nancial crisis and are targeted primarily at protecting a special class of persons, whom he described as depositors. In her remarks, the Administrator, National Judicial Institute, Hon. Justice Roseline Bozimo, who noted that the theme of the workshop was apt, as it aimed at fostering previous eff orts of the corporation and NJI, said the seminar will help fashion out ways of scaling some of the hurdles faced by the corporation in the discharge of its duties as it pertains to the rule of law.

Also speaking, Managing Director/Chief Executive Offi cer of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, while acknowledging that the judiciary remains a major stakeholder in achieving the vision and mandate of the corporation, said seminars such as this aff ords the corporation a rare privilege of closely interfacing with the judiciary. He said one of the major challenges facing the corporation since inception in 1988, is the gross misconception of the basic principles of Deposit Insurance System (DIS) among Nigerians. According to him, this misconception is responsible for unclaimed deposits following bank closure; various judgments being obtained against the corporation for the liabilities of a closed bank and attachments of the corporation’s assets and garnishee of its corporate accounts in a bid to enforce judgement sum obtained against a closed bank.

Leave a Reply