The former attorney general and commissioner for justice in Edo, Henry Idahagbon, says reviewing the process of appointment of judges in the country will help strengthen the judicial sector.
Mr Idahagbon, now the federal commissioner representing Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo at the Federal Civil Service Commission, said this in Abuja on Monday.
‘’A country gets the kind of judiciary it deserves. The judges and those who make up the judiciary are Nigerians; they are not imported. The judiciary cannot be more developed than the state of development of the country.
“So, our judicial involvement is commensurate with our political involvement. But kudos must be given to President Bola Tinubu because he has given a lot to enhance judicial independence in Nigeria.
“Now, the judiciary gets its allocation directly, not interfered with by governors and by the president at the national level. So, with direct allocation to the judiciary, they get financial independence,’’ Mr Idahagbon said.
The federal commissioner noted that reforms and judicial independence underway in the judicial sector could be seen in the appointment of judges.
He explained that 38 judges were to be appointed to the federal courts in Abuja, but their particulars were published, and many of them were disqualified.
He added, “Many of those who applied were disqualified on the ground that they failed the integrity test, and that is very important, because anybody who must sit on the bench must have some level of integrity.”
Mr Idahagbon, who also spoke on deciding election cases before the inauguration of winners, said that the present system was also a symptom and reflection of the state of development of the elections. He, however, said that though the process of deciding electoral cases is slow in the country, it is largely because everything is still being done manually.
According to Mr Idahagbon, in some states, courts, especially federal high courts, are now adopting verbatim recorders.
Mr Idahagbon added, however, that in many developed countries, election matters don’t go to election petitions, as people accept the results once the process is fair and transparent.
(NAN)
