A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CHALLENGES TO ETHICAL JUDICIARY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The present day Nigerian judiciary has been adjudged to be suffering myriad of challenges. These onerous challenges appear to be threatening the ethical values of this hallowed institution. This work therefore critically examined these challenges and made far reaching recommendations aimed at entrenching ethical standard in the Nigerian judicial service. The writers employed the doctrinal method of legal research and collated materials from primary, secondary and tertiary sources. We found that the Nigerian judiciary is burdened with multifaceted issues. These issues range from institutional to personnel's, corruption, mediocrity, lack of independence to inadequate funding. We recommended that the National Judicial Council should set up a committee to look into the perennial problems confronting the judicial sector and further recommended an immediate removal or retirement of judicial officers whose conduct and antecedents do not merit the ethical standard expected of judicial service men. Another recommendation is for the establishment of a body to be known as ‘the Bar and Bench Joint Judicial Integrity Committee’ whose primary duty will be to act as a watch dog on the integrity of lawyers and judges, and to make confidential reports either to the National Judicial Council or to the Nigerian Bar Association as the case maybe for the discipline of any of their members.