War against corruption total, says CJN

THE Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Miriam Aloma-Mukhtar on Monday said the war to rid the judiciary of corruption should be total and all-embracing, declaring that besides corrupt judges, judiciary workers also found engaging in unwholesome practices shall be dismissed.

Delivering a keynote address at a three-day national workshop organised by the National Judicial Institute (NJI) for judicial librarians across the country, Aloma-Mukhtar said all personnel in the judiciary were duty-bound to conduct themselves in a manner that does not tarnish the public image of the judiciary.

Her words: “Let me quickly add that the fight against corruption in the judiciary is not only targeted at the judicial officers but also against any employee of the judiciary who finds luxury or convenience in engaging in corrupt practices or who engages in any other unwholesome conduct.”

Represented by Justice Olu Ariola of the Supreme Court, the CJN reminded the participants that as judicial officials, they are bound by the Code of Conducts for court employees and urged them not to go against the ethics of the judicial system. “If any of you compromises himself or contravenes the Code of Conduct, he or she will face the full consequences of his or her action”, she warned. But she assured that any judicial worker that works hard and conducts himself well would be rewarded, whereas “deviant, fraudulent and indolent ones may become irrelevant in our drive for a virile judicial system.”


Earlier in his welcome address, Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Umaru Eri, underscored a need for scholarship and patronage of the library, saying it was an imperative for professionalism. Justice Eri said libraries served as “reservoirs for research and creativity” and emphasised the need for judicial librarians to be “thoroughly learned and trained to keep abreast with the current trend of information storage and retrieval.”

He said the theme of this year’s workshop: “Challenges facing court libraries in the information and communications technology age” was carefully in consideration of how technology has advanced so rapidly.
“The judiciary is, therefore, condemned to keep pace with the current trend, or it may become composed of ignorant learned men”, he stated. He noted that the livewire of judicial work is research into statutory and judicial authorities, both of the domestic and international realms.

Eri, therefore, said a well-stocked reference law library is important to a lawyer and to a judge in the administration of justice. More so, the administrator of the NJI observed that the use of information technology in the performance of the judicial functions is no longer a matter of discretion but has become imperative as judges and judiciary workers now see information technology as the means by which they do their jobs.

According to Justice Eri, people around the world have embraced the Internet and other advanced technologies in their personal and professional lives, pointing out that same is expected of the Nigerian courts.“Today, the judicial arm of the government is expected to use modern technology to enhance convenience, reduce costs, improve access to justice and in the shortest possible time”, Justice Eri added.

He further explained that, “It is within the mandate of the National Judicial Institute to make this possible by means of continuing judicial education both for the judicial officers and their staff. It is in realisation of that mandate that the institute organised this workshop to sharpen and update the knowledge of the judicial librarians on the current and emerging trends in information, science and technology as it affects the library services in the Nigerian society.”

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