Justice Walter Onnoghen. PHOTO: TWITTER/PRESIDENCY
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has described invasion of the courts by political thugs, depriving judiciary of funds as an aberration in a democratic and civilised society.
The Chief Justice also hinged the solution to numerous challenges plaguing the country on strict adherence to the principles of the rule of law.He stated this in Port Harcourt yesterday at the commissioning the National Industrial Court Complex built by Rivers State government.
Onnoghen said judges in Nigeria should be free, fair, firm and courageous in the discharge of their constitutional role. He stressed that any person of integrity cannot be intimidated or better still become subservient. According to him, sacrifices will have to be made if judiciary must come out of the wood.
He explained that if judicial officers are to adhere to the tenets of the rule of law and constitutional provisions in discharge of their responsibility, in a short while, people will begin to realise that they should not for instance be locking up courts.
“How can you in a democratic society, a civilised society think of locking up the judiciary? How can you say that you should deprive the judiciary of its funds for instance, to enable it function as it should,” he asked.
Invasion of court, depriving judiciary of fund is an aberration, says CJN
