A university don and Provost, College of Law of the Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, ABUAD, Tunde Yebisi, has advocated the exemption of Judges from election petition cases.
Yebisi stated this on Tuesday, May 8 suggested that serving judges should be exempted from election petition cases.
Yebisi who made the submission on Tuesday, said, instead of using serving judges, retired judges, or respectable lawyers, preferably Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), should be deployed.
He said these sets of lawyers should henceforth, constitute the electoral panels. The law lecturer stated that this would help to reduce incidences of coercion, intimidation, bribery and corruption.
Yebisi insisted that the use of these group of lawyers will help to keep the few judges available for judicial matters.
The Provost also highlighted the financial remunerations for the electoral judges.
According to him, the remuneration of judges, including those of inferior courts of records, must be equivalent to those of the President and Governors.
Yebisi made this submission while delivering a public lecture at the 13th edition of the Annual Aare Afe Babalola Public Bar Lecture. The lecture was instituted by the Ado-Ekiti branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), in honour of the legal icon, Afe Babalola (SAN).
Speaking at the event, Yebisi stated that such remunerations should be a continuous charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund. He said the remunerations should be disbursed directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Delivering a paper titled, ‘The Judiciary, Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow,’ Yebisi lamented the dearth of judges in Nigeria. While identifying shortage of judges in the nation’s courts, he called for the employment of more judges.
Yebisi, therefore maintained that as a result, the few ones available should be put into effective use. This, he said, will help in tackling cases of delay in the administration of justice.
He said, “The senior members of the Bar, especially those who are young, should be encouraged to join the bench. While modern IT facilities should be installed in the courts to facilitate quick dispensation of justice.
“Apart from encouraging or expanding the jurisdiction of the inferior courts to handle small claims, it is advised that not all cases should go beyond the Court of Appeal, and sometimes, the High Court,” he added.
According to him, when judicial officers complained of attempts to bribe them, as was the case with the Chairperson of the Election Petition Tribunal in Kano, such complaints should be thoroughly proved, and appropriate sanctions imposed.
The Provost added that assets declared by persons holding public offices should be taken more seriously. He also insisted that claims made must be meticulously investigated.
In his response, the founder of ABUAD, Afe Babalola, SAN, expressed the desire that the lecture series be sustained even long after his demise.
Babalola, however, expressed regrets over the dwindling economy fortune of the country. He said the economy had been badly battered so much that lawyers, who were known to be comfortable financially before, were now living below the subsistence level.
“This is more apparent in States that are landlocked, where most of the people rely on agriculture for business. The lack of a modern transportation system, deplorable roads, and lack of electricity for business have also compounded the matter more.
“Today, those who believe in giving are less than those who want to receive. Farmers who want to plant are less than those who want to eat. Those who want to invest are far less than those who want to consume. And those who want to produce are also less than those who want to consume.
“Those who want to establish businesses are less than those who are seeking employment. Those who want to engage in politics are more than those who want to work on their own. No wonder politics has become the most lucrative business in town today,” he lamented.
Babalola, therefore, suggested to the NBA Committee in charge of the annual lecture the need to be financial independent. He stated that a minimum of N50 million should be fixed in the bank. This, he said would yield maximum interest to prosecute the annual lecture.
Babalola, thereby, announced a donation of N25 million to be invested in a fixed deposit account.
He also suggested that at each annual lecture, a minimum of N500,000 should be dedicated as scholarship. This is to the given to the best Law student from ABUAD, at the Nigeria Law School.
The chairperson, Nigeria Bar Association, Ado-Ekiti branch, Lawrence Fasanmi expressed appreciation to the founder of ABUAD. He said Babalola’s immense contributions to the promotion of legal education and practice in the country warranted the honour.
The lecture was instituted during the administration of one of his predecessors, Owoseni Ajayi.
source: Premium Times
