02062021 - Attacks on INEC offices won’t stop 2023 polls —BUHARI

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34 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 Appointment, promotion and remuneration of judges in Nigeria: The need for a change AS the strike action called by JUSUN entered its eight week and following reported breakthrough between the Union and State governments in talks aimed at ending the said strike, it is imperative to comment on some paramount issues affecting the Nigerian judiciary, particularly with regards to the appointment, remuneration and promotion of Judges Ṫhe Appointment of Judicial Officers In the sixties when I began the practice of Law, appointment to the Bench was strictly on merit. At that time, appointments were by invitation, after, at least, 10 years in practice. Sitting Judges were always quick to identify legal practitioners who possessed sterling qualities suitable for appointment to the Bench. Aside from sound knowledge of the law, integrity and honour marked out and propelled many Judges appointed in those days to the Bench. However, this was made possible by the 1963 Constitution which was in force at the time. Under this Constitution, the procedure for the appointment of the Justices of the Supreme Court, as well as a Judge of the High Court of Lagos, are similar – the President appoints, acting on the advice or recommendation of the Prime Minister. Though this procedure seems simple, it was yet effective and notorious for producing the most qualified and best-suited judges on the Bench. This system effectively obviated a recourse to political affiliation, nepotism or favouritism in the appointment of judges which, no doubt, has characterised the appointment mechanism today. Undoubtedly, the provision of the 1999 Constitution as to the appointment of Judges and Justices deeply encourages the politicisation of this hallowed position. A Justice of the Supreme Court now has to be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, subject to the confirmation of such appointment by the Senate; thereby making the process more politically inclined and easier to manipulate to suit the whims and caprices of the political class. Comparatively, in some states in the United States of America, the appointment of judges is not totally in the hands of either the Governor or the legislature, but in the hands of the electorates. For instance, in Pennsylvania, an election was held on May 18, 2021 whereby judicial hopefuls were elected into office through partisan, statewide elections, rather than being selected on merit by the Judicial Commission, or by the governor or legislature. At the moment, appointment to the Nigerian Bench is seen by many as an easy way out from the demands of private law practice. Some even aspire to the Bench to enjoy the perquisites of judicial office without giving adequate thought to the demands and responsibilities of the position. It is for this reason that I advocate for the appointment of judicial officers from Senior Advocates of Nigeria, just like in the United Kingdom where members of the Queen’s Counsel may be appointed as judicial officers. This reminds me of Mrs.SafiyaBadamasi Umar of Katsina State who was conferred the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2019, and was sworn in as a Judge of the Katsina State High Court in 2020. The Nigerian Judiciary certainly needs more judges to be appointed from Senior Advocates. However, for this to be so, there needs to be the conferment of more Senior Advocates and, in addition, more has to be done with regard to the remuneration of judicial officers. I will discuss more on the subject of remuneration shortly. The fact that appointments of High Court Judges are made by the Governor upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council is one capable of abuse and therefore further eroding the independence of the Judiciary The Elevation of Judges into the Higher Bench In similar terms, it is time to shift the paradigm of elevation of judges from the official Bar alone. There should be room for the appointment of judges and justices straight from practice to all levels of Courts. This is the practice in England where some distinguished lawyers have been appointed to the Bench. However, this will engender the conferment of the rank of SAN on more legal practitioners and better remuneration for judges to make the position more lucrative. In addition, there needs to be a review of the process of appointing High Court Judges from the magistracy. Magistrates should be encouraged to stay at the Lower Bench and not necessarily seek elevation to the High Court. This will create a whole lot of stability in the appointment, retention, and performance of Magistrates in Ekiti State. However, there is a need to increase the salaries and entitlements of magistrates in order to make the position more lucrative; and, of course, to ensure that their entitlements are promptly paid. Generally, the age of appointment of judges in Nigeria calls for great concern. It is not only economically counterproductive but equally unreasonable to appoint judges who are close to the official age of retirement. There is no point in waiting till a person has attained the age of 55 before appointing him to the Bench. Younger Judges should be appointed in order to spend more years on the Bench and to allow that they develop the requisite skills and knowledge which will permit them to have longer, more productive years on the Bench. Remuneration of Judges Remuneration and employment condition of judicial officers, as we may know, is nothing to write home about. To put this in proper perspective, I will consider the position in South Africa. The South African legislature enacted a Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act. Under this law, South African High Court, Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal judges have a 15-year tenure and where a judge who has attained the age of 70 years has not yet completed his 15 years’ active service, he must continue to perform active service as a judge till he attains the age of 75 years. In addition to ensuring the payment of attractive salaries and benefits to serving judges, there is a provision for continuous payment of salaries and gratuities to judges after discharge from active service. Also, there is a provision for payment of lifetime salaries to surviving spouses of judges, and gratuities for such spouses. By way of comparison, the pay of Nigerian Judges compares poorly with their foreign counterparts. At the rate of about N475 to a Dollar, the following table demonstrably shows that Nigerian Judges are the least paid: In 2013, the then Lord Chief Justice of England, in his final annual report as Lord Chief Justice, expressed the fear that unless the pay of Judges was raised from its average of £175,000 (N43,750,000) per year - at the then exchange rate of N250 to a pound) many top lawyers will reject the opportunity to become Judges. In his report on the matter, the MailOnline in its edition of 31st August 2014 stated as follows: “Britain’s top judge has launched a scathing attack on the decision to slash his colleagues’ pay, warning it has destroyed morale in the profession and risks compromising the quality of future recruits. Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who is standing down from the role later this year, says sweeping salary cuts of as much as 60 per cent since 2011, allied to an increased workload, is seriously affecting judges’ state of mind. And he fears that unless pay is raised from its current average of £175,000 per year, top lawyers will reject the chance to become judges. In his final annual report, he said there was a growing gap between senior lawyers’ pay and that of Judges. Judges are also working harder, he said, no longer presiding over trials and hearings, but also involved in administrative and other duties. This combination of changes has lowered morale, which raised doubts about the ability to ‘recruit, retain and motivate sufficient high-quality people to the judiciary’.” Furthermore, the fact that appointments of High Court Judges are made by the Governor upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council is one capable of abuse and therefore further eroding the independence of the Judiciary. From the clear wordings of Section 271 of the Constitution, the appointment of judges is made by the Governor. All that the National Judicial Council does is to recommend based on factors such as vacancies and suitability of candidates. Where the Governor proceeds to make the appointment based upon the recommendation of the Council, the appointee may feel a sense of loyalty to the Governor who appointed him. Conclusion It is clear, from the foregoing, that the time is ripe for a departure from the old way of doing things. In order to ensure a corruption-free, wellmotivated, and justice-driven court system, a whole lot has to be done to reform the judiciary in its entirety. Government must particularly act in a manner that suggests it is serious about independence of the judiciary. A situation in which the judicial arm of government yearly gets pittance in terms of budgetary allocation is not one that will portray government in good light. Government may be perceived as punishing the judiciary for any perceived wrong doing and this will never augur well for the polity. To be concluded :Vanguard News Cybercrime: Schneider alerts institutions on preventive measuress By Prince Okafor LAGOS—AS a move to mitigate the rising incidents of ransomware, phishing, and malware attacks, among others, Schneider Electric has urged energy companies, financial institutions, large industries, as well as micro, small and medium sized companies to be extra vigilant, and to deploy proven cybersecurity measures especially as the perpetrators of cybercrime have become more sophisticated. The energy company made this during a webinar organised by the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the theme: “Cybersecurity and process automation in today’s business :@vanguardnews DPM alleges plot to destabilise Delta govt By Festus Ahon ASABA—THE Delta Political Monitors, DPM, a group of eminent detribalized Deltans from the 25 local government areas of Delta State, has alleged that certain political elements in the state are deliberately out to heat the polity and cause confusion to distract the governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa from continuing with his good program in the state. The group in a communique at the end of its meeting at the weekend, said the reactions of some political groups, socio-cultural groups, certain eminent Deltans and the main opposition political party, the APC to the statement credited to the Governor on the issue of rotation of political power amongst the three Senatorial Districts in Delta State, were unfortunate and disturbing. The group in the communique signed by three of its leaders, Samuel Mariere, Chief Otimiyen Adams and Daniel Goddey, stressed that Governor Okowa was being quoted out of context in respect of the contentious issue. “Besides keenly following the reactions to the said statement, the Delta Political Monitors has been monitoring the Political temperature in the State pre and post the said statement and has Edo community denies enchroachment into neighbour's land By Ozioruva Aliu ENIN CITY—THE people of BOkhuoromi in Oredo local government area of Edo State have denied allegation by their neighbour, Egbiri and a private company of annexing their land and in the process destroying economic trees running into millions of naira. The people of Egbiri have recently accused Okhuoromi of contravening existing court orders in regard to the disputed areas and also threatening to harm them. But reacting to the allegations yesterday, counsel to Okhuoromi, Prince Peter Uwadiae said: “The fundamentals are that there are two matters in respect of Okhuoromi and Egbiri; Okhuoromi and Shalom Jare Venture. These two matters were going on simultaneously in Court. One was in Court 1, and the other in Court 3. “The issues that were before the two Courts stem from the fact that for the one in Court 1, Egbiri Community and Okhuoromi Community had land dispute which had lingered for a very long time as far back as 1998, 1999. That issue was not resolved until 2017 when HRM Oba come to the irresistible conclusion that certain political elements in the state are deliberately out to unnecessarily heat the polity and cause confusion in order to distract His Excellency from continuing with his good program in Delta State”. “The Delta Political Monitors is sure footed in her belief that the governor was quoted out of context in respect of the contentious issue of rotation of political power amongst the three senatorial districts of Delta State. It is obvious from the statement of His Excellency, that what he meant is that there was no time the political class either in the PDP and or the opposition parties in Delta State met to formally reach a agreement that political power should shift from one senatorial district to the other, rather at the end of the eight year tenure of each Governor, the political class usually meet to determine which senatorial district will take over on the basis of Justice, equity and fairness”. “The Delta Political Monitors wish to state in categorical terms that His Excellency didn’t say political power will remain in one senatorial district and or that political power will be rotated on the basis of ethnicity. His emphasis in the said statement is that he was not God to determine who will be the next Governor of Delta State, meaning that he can’t as a person singlehandedly produce the next Governor”. Ewuare II who is the sole authority that determines traditional boundaries between communities, adjudicated on the issue between Okhuoromi and Egbiri. “Consequent upon the judgment of His Royal Majesty, his representatives popularly known as 'Avbiogbe' were designated to create a permanent boundary between these two communities. On the day of enforcement of this directive, representatives of the two communities were present. “What Okhuoromi people are doing today is that they are giving effect to the judgment delivered by Justice Edigin, the then Chief Judge of Edo State retired; to which there is no stay of execution. “The law is very apt. If a party gets a judgment, and there is no stay of execution of that judgment, from either the Court that delivers the judgment or a higher Court, the judgment shall be executed. “So, what is now being done in the eye of the law, when there is no injunction in Shalom Jare's case subsisting, when there is a judgment saying that portion of land form part of the larger portion of land owned by Okhuoromi, can it now be held to be in violation of any order of Court? environment”. In his presentation, Obukohwo Obukonise, a Senior Systems and Cybersecurity Engineer at Schneider Electric, said: “An attack is any attempt to expose, alter, disable, destroy, steal or gain information through unauthorized access to, or make unauthorized use of an asset in computers and computer networks.” Citing AV-Test.org May 2021 reports, Obukonise said that malware attacks in the last seven years rose from 470 million in 2015 to 1.2 billion in 2021. Also, between 2020 and 2021, he said that the number rose from 1.1 billion to 1.2 billion. He attributed this rise to successes in previous year’s attacks where attackers made a fortune and are now investing the monies into developing more sophisticated malware.
Continues from Page 5 declaring open the public hearing on the review of the constitution, said the National Assembly can only achieve the task after getting the inputs and support of the citizens. Participants at the twoday public hearing included the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, who represented Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; members of the House of Representatives Special Committee on the Review of the Constitution; members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ); Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC; representatives of political parties, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, youth organisations and market women. In response to the doubts expressed in some quarters about the exercise, the speaker said: “The foundational constitution of the United States of America deemed people of colour to be ‘less than’ and denied women the right to vote. It did not include any limits on the President’s term of office and allowed for citizens to be denied the right to vote for failure to pay the ‘poll tax’. Naira stable at N412/$ in I&E window By Elizabeth Adegbesan The naira yesterday was stable at N412 per dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window even as the volume of dollars traded declined by 20 percent. Data from FMDQ showed that the volume of dollars traded (turnover) in the window fell to $125.44 million from $156.06 million on Monday. vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews Scrap Senate, cut no of Reps, slash FG's size — AKEREDOLU ‘No perfect constitution’ “27 reviews and amendments, over one hundred years cured these and other defects. No nation in the world has a perfect constitution, but we need a near-perfect constitution in Nigeria and we can achieve that through substantive amendments that significantly alter the character of our nation. “Therefore, the task before us now is to use this process of review and amendment to devise for ourselves a constitution that resolves the issues of identity and political structure, of human rights and the administration of government, resource control, national security and so much else, that have fractured our nation and hindered our progress and prosperity. “Our job is to produce a constitution that turns the page on our past, yet heeds its many painful lessons. It is not an easy task, but it is a necessary and urgent one. We will not be able to deliver on this historic assignment if we restrict ourselves to tinkering around the edges of the constitution or by imposing upon ourselves artificial red lines that restrict honest conversation. “All of us in the House of Representatives will work conscientiously and in good faith so that it may be said of us in this process that we made an audacious attempt at creating for our nation a constitution that recognises our diversity and draws strength from it, and addresses once and for all, the fault lines that distract from nationbuilding.” Tyranny of low expectations “It is all too clear that many of our citizens have come to expect too little of our politics and •Says insecurity won’t define his legacy government. We are suffering from the tyranny of low expectations and the cynicism that causes us to believe that the political process cannot produce anything worthy or worthwhile. “I understand the causes of this cynicism, but I refuse to share in it. I still believe that politics and government in Nigeria can be a force for good and that by our common endeavour, we can achieve the vision of a just, peaceful, and prosperous society. “However, beyond these public hearings, you still have an opportunity to make submissions that will be considered and that will help this process achieve the best outcomes. Please, by all means, participate. Let your voice be heard, and let your vision also inform the direction of this process. “I urge all who have come to participate here today to do so with decorum and respect for one another. Let our deliberations be wellintentioned, wellinformed and reflect our patriotism. In this way, we will have a most productive engagement over the next two days.” Sanwo-Olu restates special status for Lagos In his remarks at the opening of the South- West Zonal public hearing of the House of Representatives Special Committee on the Review Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 — 35 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, held in Ikeja, Lagos, Governor Sanwo- Olu insisted that a special status for Lagos State, with a huge population, must be a concern not only for residents alone but also for all Nigerians. Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, said: “The continuous request for a special status for the state is by no means a selfish one, but actually in the NEWS HOTLINES 018773962, 08052867058 interest of every Nigerian. “The need for this special status has been sufficiently articulated and justified. It suffices for me at this point to restate that this request is by no means a selfish one, but one that is actually in the interest of every Nigerian and of Nigeria as a nation. “The progress and prosperity of Nigeria are inextricably linked to the progress and prosperity of Lagos State.” Buhari has done what other Nigerian presidents ports development, have not —LAI MOHAMMED By Soni Daniel, Abuja AS President Muhammadu Buhari marks six years in office, Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, boasted yesterday that no Nigerian president has ever accomplished what the current administration had achieved since coming into power in 2015. He also said the security challenges confronting the country will not define President Buhari’s legacy. The minister, who spoke while addressing the media to mark the sixth anniversary of the Buhari administration, announced that government had decided to make a deliberate and conscious effort to • Lai Mohammed publicise the catalogue of achievements, using every available media tool in order to set the records straight and shame those who accuse it of doing nothing over the years. Mohammed said: “Never in the history of our country has any administration done so much with so little as Buhari’s has done. “It’s easy to forget now, but when this administration came into office in 2015, the price of crude oil, which provides 80 per cent of Nigeria’s budgetary revenues and 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings, dropped drastically and, along with it, the funds From left: Deputy Chief Whip, House of Representatives Chairman, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo Centers, Hon. (Barr) Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; Speaker, House of Representatives, RT. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and Member, House of Representatives ,Hon. Jimi Benson during the South West Zonal Public Hearing Lagos Center (Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states) held at the Marrriot Hotel, Joel Ogunnaike Street; GRA Ikeja Lagos. available to the government. It is, therefore, monumental that this administration has achieved so much, despite the paucity of funds. “I want to state emphatically that while more attention has been given, especially in recent times, to the security challenges facing our country, those challenges are fleeting and will not define the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari. “Let me say that President Buhari’s legacy is assured, and will be defined by his massive achievements in office. The roads, rails, bridges, mass housing, improvement in power supply and other massive infrastructural development will last for generations to come and will help propel economic growth and national development.” According to him, Buhari’s myriads of achievements are in the areas of roads, rail, housing, power, aviation, agriculture, ports, bridges, health, fight against COVID-19, water resources and the economy generally, which are on the ground for Nigerians to see. Mohammed, however, regretted that some mischievous elements are claiming that the administration had done nothing, despite the clear evidence of strong performance with little funds at its disposal. “In spite of our best efforts, the naysayers have continued to say they have not seen what this administration has achieved. They have continued to deny the obvious by pretending that these achievements are not real. “Even when they have travelled on the new standard gauge rail from Abuja to Kaduna, Lagos to Ibadan, and Itakpe- Ajaokuta-Warri, they still deny that any progress has been made in modernizing the country’s rail infrastructure. They travel through the ultramodern airport terminals in Abuja and Enugu, yet they deny any progress has been made in modernizing airports,” he said. Firm to commence loan disbursement September By Nkiruka Nnorom SPARKLE, a lifestyle and financial digital platform providing seamless solutions to Nigeria’s retailers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)and individuals, has said that it will commence loan disbursement to small businesses and individuals at the beginning of September this year. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Uzoma Dozie, who disclosed this in Lagos, said the company plans to make the processes for the loan disbursement faster and the rate cheaper than that of the traditional banks. Dozie, who explained that Sparkle exists to resolve issues around business support systems, said its customers would be provided with coaching on modalities to lower the cost of borrowing. He stated that Sparkle our has forged strategic partnerships with institutions like Visa, Microsoft, Google and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to build trust and provide more value to its customers. “We want to make digital banking completely simple from how transactions are done. We want to provide banking services to small businesses, help them save as well as help them to be compliant with tax laws in Nigeria.
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Page 15 and 16: C M Y K MainOne expands data center
Page 17 and 18: A look at Buhari’s hailers and hi
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Page 29 and 30: Operation Restore Peace in South Ea
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02062021 - Attacks on INEC offices won’t stop 2023 polls —BUHARI

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