New Telegraph

AGF, Sagay call for review of Judicial officers’ appointment, promotion guidelines

…lament fall in quality of judgements

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has called for an urgent redefinition of standards and criteria for appointments and elevation of judicial officers to the various courts of record in the country.

The AGF predicated his call on the fact that the quality of any judgement delivered, is a function of the capacity of the judge or justice, as the case may be. Malami’s position was accentuated by the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), who bemoaned the fall in the quality of judgements delivered by some judicial officers. Both Malami and Sagay spoke at a virtual roundtable organised by the PACAC with the theme, “Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Judgements in the Nigerian Legal System”. In his submission, Malami commended the presidential advisory committee for organising the roundtable, which he described as not only apt, but timely.

The AGF, who was represented by Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, said: “I believe that discussions in this forum will assist in redefining the criteria and standard in the appointment of judges to our various courts. “This initiative is both timely and apt. Therefore, I support fully these discussions and hope that the outcome of the discussion will help in redefining the criteria and standards in redefining for appointment of justices”. On his part, Sagay said he held the judiciary in high esteem, explaining that his criticism of the institution was a deliberate attempt at ensuring that the moral and ethical standards that defined the critical arm of government, were upheld at all times.

Specifically, the professor of law noted with concern the quality of judgements delivered by some judges in recent times, which he said, called for serious concerns. To restore the high standards associated with the judiciary, the PACAC’s Chairman has called for the jettisoning of what he described as the “turn-byturn” practice (concept of seniority). In its stead, he suggested a new order in the appointment of judicial system, to engender confidence, which is the foundation upon which justice is built. “We must devise a system for the appointment of judges which promotes confidence in the quality of our judges.

“We need to institute a system for the promotion of judges rather than continue with the routine which is ‘turn by turn’, he stressed,” Sagay said. He recalled the days when, according to him, judicial official could never be associated with corruption in any form whatsoever.

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