The Convener of the Fight Against Corruption in the Judiciary (FIACIJ) Bayo Akinlade has urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to lead the fight against corrupt practices in the judiciary.
Akinlade told the News Agency of Nigeria that the fight against corrupt practices especially in the justice sector, ought to be given rapt attention by leadership of the bar in line with its mandate.
According to him, most work undertaken by FIACIJ in recent times, are largely “underground” so as to achieve the desired result .
He urged the NBA to make its impact also felt in this regard, since the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man .
“You see, most of our work now is basically underground; like the court monitoring initiative in Lagos, where we have people reporting if there is any bribery issue when you go to court.
“However, we have not been having the support of the bar association which has not even tried to intimate or encourage its members to report cases of corruption in the judiciary.
“As a private body, those who report such cases to FIACIJ are those who know me personally and there is also no initiative even from the judiciary to fight this corruption within its system.
“Lawyers on their part appear mystified on this issue because they believe that their cases won’t go on; so, they hold this belief because they have no one to report to.
“Lawyers also feel they cannot report such issues to their bar associations and this makes me wonder, if they cannot trust the bar to report such issues, then who can they trust?
According to him, FIACIJ is also focused on fighting for a better remuneration of judges as well as better court structures.
Also Read:
- GOCOP condoles with Newdawnngr publisher on wife’s death
- ICPC arraigns Ministry of Water Resources official for money laundering
- LASAA reacts to concerns raised on faulty billboard in Abati Barrack
- Oyebanji hails Tinubu for approving university for Ekiti
- Lagos rallies town planners to embed environmental laws into urban development
On alleged sharp practices among court registrars, Akinlade noted that the intervention of FIACIJ has helped to stem the tide of such.
“From the feedback we have now, the issue of corruption among court registrars has substantially reduced.
“Besides, in Lagos state judiciary, every fee is now remitted through the banks and we have not received any complaints for instance, of files sitting in one place this year ,” he said
According to Akinlade, in other states where he had filed actions, there has also been no complaints of such situations.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
