‘LET THE JUDICIARY BREATHE’: The Need for an Independent Judicial System

By Abiodun Olawale Solomon,

INTRODUCTION
One of the major factors that enables a working democratic institution is the presence of a good judicial system i.e the judiciary. This arm of government is saddled with institutional and constitutional powers and functions. It is popularly known as “the last hope of a common man”.

For a country to be said to be one which runs a good judicial system, it must possess a democratic element/principle known as “an independent judiciary”. This simply means, a judicial system devoid of interference from other arms of government.

However, one of the gifts the emancipation of democracy brought along to Nigeria before, during and after the military intervention is the JUDICIARY.

Constitutionally, the major function of the judiciary is to act as check on the activities of other arms of government. Now, the question as to whether or not the Nigerian judicial system is independent shall be answer further in the body of this work.

The legal framework of Nigeria i.e the constitution, provides that the courts and other judicial institutions in the country shall protect the rights and liberties of the citizens in case their rights are being trampled upon or is likely to be infringed.

The unethical intervention by political phenomena on the functionality of the judiciary has been a menace to the democracy of Nigeria in recent years. For instance, the doctrine of an independent judiciary is not in force where the executives (who are politicians) are the sole appointors of the judicial heads i.e the chief justice, justices, judges and so on.

In this wise, ordinarily, one could ask the question whether an appointee can duly check the powers of his appointor. This in every situation will give a negative answer and thus, make it glaring that the judiciary becomes the servants of overambitious politicians in one way or another.

The judiciary, which is meant to be the custodian of the laws, norms and regulations of the country are now being put in the position of a puppet, servicing the ambitions of their appointors. Usually, they are under pressure when they are to decide on the bench the position of the law in different cases which are being brought before them to give judgements, especially ones that affect their appointors.

Recently in Nigeria, citizens prefer to stay stuck on their individual problems instead of seeking redress in the court when their fundamental rights are breached. Thus, this is usually caused by the lack of confidence of the citizens in the judiciary, which has risen over the years. They are most times non enthusiastic and think that justice is not always served, as the rich and the noble ones are under the protection of the corrupt and manipulated judicial officers.

Going further, if one gives a closer look at the reason for the lack of transparency of the judiciary, one will easily point at the politicization of the judiciary and its institutions. This makes the judiciary choked and unable to breathe because of the pressure from other arms.

CONCLUSION
For the judiciary to have an avenue to perform beyond expectations in their day-to-day activities, there will be a need for the rejuvenation of the judicial system, one which is devoid of politics in the mode of appointment of judicial officers and other stakeholders.