News

Corruption in Nigerian judiciary is extensive – UNODC

Published

5 months ago

March 3, 2024

Naijablitz

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) says corruption is prevalent in the Nigerian judiciary.

A representative of the UNODC, Melissa Omene, said this on Friday at a judicial accountability event in Abuja.

The event was organised by Tapinitiative, a not-for-profit organisation

Speaking on a 2019 survey that was conducted by the UNODC and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ms Omene said the survey “found that 20 per cent of those who had contact with the Nigerian judiciary were confronted with a request for the payment of a bribe.

“Indeed, corruption in the Nigerian judiciary is extensive and both male and female judges are party to it.”

Giving a comparative analysis of the issue, a UNODC study on gender and corruption in 2020, disclosed that “male judges are far more likely to be involved in bribe-seeking conduct than their female colleagues.”

The study said corruption amongst judicial officers had eroded “public confidence in the judiciary.”

‘Why public trust in judiciary waning’
Weighing in on the quality of justice dispensation by Nigerian courts, a lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, blamed lawyers and judges for the loss of public confidence in the judicial system.

Mr Okutepa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a former member of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), said the country is in a moral decay.

He decried the conduct of senior lawyers who compromise judges to get favourable verdicts.

“There is no accountability from the judiciary because the Nigerian society does not demand accountability,” he said.

The lawyer criticised the process of appointment of judges that is based on “rationing.”

Mr Okutepa pointed out that recent judgements of the Supreme Court on crucial cases dealt a fatal blow to public confidence in the judiciary to do justice on matters that come before it.

“The Supreme Court has elevated the rules of court above constitutional provisions. There is no accountability from the Nigerian judiciary,” he submitted.

He lamented that the age-old principle of judicial precedent has been bastardised across the courts in Nigeria.

“You can see five different decisions of the Supreme Court on one issue that are inherently contradictory,” Mr Okutepa said, adding that “precedents are set based on who is before the court.”

In the build-up to last year’s general elections, the Supreme Court delivered two separate judgements affirming the candidacy of Ahmad Lawan, a former Senate President, and Godswill Akpabio as authentic ticket-holders for the National Assembly elections in their respective states of Yobe and Akwa Ibom.

Messrs Lawan and Akpabio were presidential aspirants in the All Progressives Congress and could not have been aspirants at the same time for the parliamentary polls because of the latest provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

But the Supreme Court in 2022 declared them winners of the legislative primary elections of the APC, a development that drew outrage amongst close observers of the Nigerian judiciary.

Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State and minister under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, would later win the main election to become the current Senate President.

Similarly, a panellist at the event, Chioma Onyenucheya-Uko, said the judiciary missed an opportunity to bolster its public image when the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja last year rejected requests by the two leading opposition candidates – Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi – to have the court’s proceedings televised.

The panel, moderated by Lillian Okenwa, a journalist and lawyer, said nepotism was commonplace in judicial appointments.

But, a former judge of the Federal High Court, Ibrahim Buba, rated Nigerian judges high in the discharge of their duties.

Delivering a keynote address on the topic, “Impact of judicial accountability on public trust in the legal system,” Mr Buba said Nigerian judges stood up to dictators and democratic leaders in their judicial functions.

“…having regards to the conditions and environment of work, with all modesty, I say KUDOS to the Nigerian bar and the Nigerian bench, take away politics, where people differ on opinions and questions of law and both may be right, the Nigerian judiciary has given a very good account of itself,” Mr Buba said.

He explained that politicians “who cannot have their way undermine the independence of the Nigerian judiciary, not only starving it of funds but ensuring an erosion of independence of the judiciary and having friction and try to remove the chief judges unconstitutionally.”

“Nigerian judges are courageous, very, very courageous, they have dared the military, they have dared the political class, like every society, they have also dealt even with their colleagues who are found wanting.”

News

Po!n, betting sites recorded 162m Nigerian visitors in June – Report

Published

28 mins ago

July 27, 2024

Admin

A report by global data and business intelligence platform, StatiSense, has revealed that more than 162 million Nigerians visited porn and betting websites in June 2024.

According to the platform’s most recent data, which lists the top ten websites that Nigerians saw on their mobile devices in June, a sizable percentage of this traffic visited websites with gambling and pornographic content.

A post on StatiSense’s official X page revealed that a variety of search engines, social media apps, and betting platforms were among the most popular websites.

Notably, two pornographic websites, Xvideos and Xnxx, came in second and sixth place respectively with a total of 80.18 million visits.

In addition, Nigerian mobile users visited sporting websites 176.83 million times. Of these, 83.1 million visits were allocated to sports betting sites Sportybet and Bet9ja, which secured third and fourth places on the list.

Google and Facebook were also among the sites that featured prominently in the report.

News

Reps hail Wike, Tamuno over AICL’s improved revenue, infrastructure

Published

32 mins ago

July 27, 2024

Admin

Members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on FCT, led by Hon. Aliyu Muktar Betara have applauded the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike over ongoing infrastructural development projects across the nation’s capital city.

The lawmakers who spoke during an interactive session with the Group Managing Director of Abuja Investment Company Limited (AICL), Dr. Maureen Tamuno applauded her ingenuity towards improved revenue generation since her assumption of office.

While presenting her scorecard and strategy adopted in the turnaround of Abuja Investment Company Limited to the Committee, Dr. Tamuno disclosed that AICL only manages the district markets, not the entire markets across the territory.

According to her, Wuse Markets is owned 90 percent by the individuals who bought the shops while AICL owns 10 percent.

“For example, Wuse Market is owned 90 percent by the owners, we own 10 percent. What Abuja Management does for Wuse market is to manage the facility there through the toll taking which they do collect on our behalf and then they manage the facilities, they manage the refuse collections and they also work with the market association.”

News

Tinubu serious in solving economic crisis — Wike

Published

39 mins ago

July 27, 2024

Admin

Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on Friday said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is serious in solving the economic crisis in the country.

Wike gave the assurance during the inspection of the ongoing construction of the 7.3 kilometers Gaba/Tokulo road in Bwari Area Council.

He pleaded with Abuja residents to give the present administration the needed support to deliver the dividends of democracy.

Addressing reporters during the inspection visit, the FCT Minister expressed satisfaction with the speed and quality of work on the road project and assured that it will be adequately funded to ensure its timely completion by December this year.

The Minister who revealed that the project was 40 percent complete, said about 70 percent of the contractual sum has been paid to the contractor by the FCT Administration and expressed confidence in the capacity of the contractor to deliver the project within the agreed schedule.

Wike further disclosed that the Gaba/Tokulo road, when completed, will not only enhance transportation in the rural parts of the FCT, but will also improve food security in the nation’s capital by providing access to the farmlands, as well as access to the markets.

He also stressed the commitment of the FCT Administration to providing infrastructure in the FCT Area Councils, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Wike said: “So many people have thought that we are only concentrating in the city. Yesterday, we were in Saburi, today we are in Bwari. Tomorrow, we will be in Kuje, so that people will understand that while we are doing in the city, we are also carrying out development in the satellite towns and the rural areas because by the Renewed Hope Agenda, development is not only to be concentrated within the city but also to take to the rural areas in order to improve the economy.

“Here is an agrarian area; without this road, how are they going to move their goods? And this is part of the problems we have in terms of food insecurity. People are talking about shortages of food, but if we don’t have means of transportation, that is also a problem.

“We are trying to solve that problem of transportation for farmers to be able to go and bring whatever they have produced for people to consume or to buy”.

Wike, while thanking the people of Bwari for their support for the government, also reiterated that President Tinubu was committed to addressing the economic problems of the country and called for their continued support.

He said: “We thank the people of Bwari and we want to also let them know that the government of President Tinubu is serious about solving the economic crisis we have. All we urge Nigerians is just to be patient.