The Chairman of Port-Harcourt Branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Barr. Sylvester Adaka, has said that the rule of law must be followed so that judiciary in the country can become independent.
The NBA Chairman who stated this in an interview in Port-Harcourt , said that the constitution provided for an independent judiciary.
He said: “For us to be able to have an independent judiciary, the rule of law must be followed, the rule of law must be supreme and once the rule of law is not supreme, our judiciary cannot be independent”.
According to him, recent events in the country showed that the judiciary is not independent, noting that the Constitution provides for an independent judiciary.
Barr. Adaka said: “The Constitution of the country provides for an independent judiciary. In fact, it provides for three independent arms of government: the legislature, the judiciary and the executive (but) the events of the last few months have shown that the judiciary (in Nigeria) is anything but independent, but I think it’s another pothole on our road to an enduring democracy”.
The NBA Chairman said that some “things” were “afflicting” the judiciary in the country but expressed the hope that there would be an independent judiciary in Nigeria.
He said: “I’m sure that by the time we go through some of these things that are afflicting the judiciary at the moment, we would one day come out with the proper independent three arms of government that our Constitution guarantees but my personal opinion at the moment is that our judiciary is still a long way from being independent”.
He said that the National Judicial Council (NJC), which monitors the activities of judges, should be allowed to deal with cases of alleged corruption against judges.
Meanwhile, the NBA Chairman said that he would like to leave a legacy at the end of his tenure, saying that he had done a lot to improve accountability in the Port-Harcourt branch of the NBA.
He said: “My aim, as I said during my campaign, is to improve accountability. I’ve done a lot to do that already: to improve accountability, make the accounts of NBA, Port-Harcourt branch, look more transparent to its members so that members can see and feel what the branch does with their dues and how the branch is administered and also I would like to leave a legacy where we improve the facilities we have, keep and be able to maintain the facilities we have”.
He said that his being the Chairman of the Port-Harcourt branch of the NBA is a “serious job” and it “comes” with “challenges” but noted that he was able to handle the challenges.
Barr. Adaka described the Port-Harcourt branch of NBA as one of the “most organized” branches in the country.
