NIGERIA'S National Judicial Council (NJC) has barred judges and other court staff from accepting gifts from other arms of government as part of a renewed campaign to combat corruption within the judiciary.
Over recent weeks, the Nigerian judiciary has come under the spotlight following the arrest of several judges who are now facing corruption charges. Their arrest has sparked a furious debate across the country, with the NJC and the Nigerian Bar Association claiming that it is an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
However, the government has hit back saying that the move became pertinent because the judiciary is rife with corruption and judges do not have immunity from prosecution. Government ministers have blamed the NJC, which is responsible for discipline among judges for not doing its job properly, hence why there was a need for the anti-graft agencies to get involved.
In what looks like a bid to get on top of the situation, the NJC has now barred court officials from accepting gifts from the government. In a further bid to enhance the independence of the judiciary, the NJC has also outlawed any form of lobbying of other arms of government by the judiciary or any of its institutions.
These new measures are also set out to curb corruption and other unethical conduct among judicial officers and other court staff. They form part of the provisions in a new National Judicial Policy (NJP) to be launched in Abuja today by the NJC.
NJC officials hope to merge and improve on the existing NJP and a similar policy by the National Judicial Institute (NJI) with the new policy. Nigeria's existing Code of Conduct for judicial officers provides that a judge and members of his/her family shall neither ask for nor accept any gift, bequest, favour, or loan on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties.
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