The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ado Ekiti Branch, has advocated total freedom for Nigeria’s judiciary, saying allowing the executive to ride roughshod on the arm would ruin the country’s democracy and derail the development focus.

The body posited that it was wrong for the executive to be the appointing authority for the Judges and Magistrates, thereby imbuing them with powers to stifle and control the judiciary with impunity, stating that the trend must change to strengthen democracy and judicature.

The NBA Chairman, Ado Ekiti Branch, Ekiti State, Adeyemi Adewumi said this, in Ado Ekiti, on Monday, at the commencement of the Law Week 2022 with the theme: ‘Judicial Independence, a Recipe for True Democracy in Nigeria’.

Adewumi predicated the kernel of the fight for judicial independence on the premise that the arm shouldn’t be controlled or manipulated by other arms, saying such could cause systemic failure and collapse.

According to him, “Judicial independence means that judges and magistrates must be free to exercise their judicial powers without fear, favour, and interference from litigants, state, which doubles as its appointing authority, media or other powerful individuals or institutions, including multinational and high net worth companies.

“For the judiciary to be truly independent, it is considered that Judges must be free to discharge their responsibilities not minding whose ox is gored or pandering to the sentimental dictates of their statutory appointors, as Judges are appointed by the executive subject to recommendation by National Judicial Council (NJC).

After all, he who pays the piper dictates the tune. It is still yet to be found, how an employee can be truly independent of his employer.

“In a country like Nigeria, which is presently characterised by economic underdevelopment, it is generally considered constitutionally desirable that institutional separation of judiciary from other arms of government is a necessary bulwark against all forms of political and social tyranny, victimisation and oppression.”

Lamenting the arbitrariness being allegedly exhibited by some governors in relation to the judiciary, Adewumi said, “We had seen a situation here in Ekiti State where NJC recommended Judges for an appointment and the executive stopped it and it took the coming of another government and NBA’s intervention to get it done.”

On how the branch intends to join forces with stakeholders to free the judiciary from enslavement, the NBA boss said, “We can during this conference send a memo to the National Assembly to rework our constitution to give the NJC more powers in the appointment of our Judges.

“Judiciary will never be functional and independent as long as the executive ratifies their appointments and release funds for their operations.

“We have heard from Chief Judges of states saying that the allocation they got from governments couldn’t pay the salaries of Judges let alone putting up infrastructures. Why should we have an environment like that? We will continue to have problems with this situation.

“If you see the vehicles being used by some of our Judges, you will pity them. We are saying that it is high time we allowed the judiciary to be truly independent.

“Judiciary should be allowed to be financially independent. Why should the judiciary runs to the executive If they want to buy an ordinary key? We are saying this must stop. Let the judiciary receive its allocation and funds directly from the source, like in the executive and legislative arms,” the NBA boss said.

On the harmonised amended 1999 Constitution pending before the State Houses of Assembly across the nation, Adewumi advised the lawmakers to look into the bill expeditiously, in the interest of the Nigerian masses and their wellbeing.