Lawmakers in support of judicial autonomy - Onofiok Luke

The Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, delivered a keynote address on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila when he made the comment.

He spoke at the Annual Conference of the Section on Legal Practice of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA-SLP) holding in Uyo Akwa Ibom State.

Luke who was also one of the speakers at the conference delivered a paper on the topic; JUDICIAL AUTONOMY: TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN; WHAT IS EXPECTED?ÔÇØ.

According to Luke; "The legislature is in support judicial autonomy and we have in many ways respected the sanctity of the courts. Inbuilt in our governing rules (Standing Orders) is the rule forbidding the discussion of matters being handled by the courtsÔÇØ.

"This in itself is recognition of the supremacy of our courts. We have obeyed decisions of court even when it does not favour us. We have continually pushed for reforms favourable to the judiciary. We understand that an independent judiciary is a critical stakeholder in the sustenance of democracy,ÔÇØ he said.
Onofiok Luke
The lawmaker argued that much has not been given to the judiciary in Nigeria. He lamented the poor funding of the judiciary. "Out of the entire appropriation, 110 billion was appropriated for the judiciary. 110 billion is 0.81% of 13.58trn. It follows that an arm of government like judiciary, despite the growing pressure upon court services, different capital projects across the country and inflationary trends, does not have a minimum of 1% of federal government appropriationÔÇØ

"If I may agree that much has been given to the Nigerian Judiciary in the last couple of years, I dare say that this 'much' is arguably the lowest when compared to what other arms of Government receiveÔÇØ.

"In spite of this, Nigerian Judges still carry out their jobs with dedication and commitment, albeit under very challenging circumstances. The time to provide thatÔÇØmuchÔÇØfor this critical arm of Government is nowÔÇØ, Luke said.

The Chairman House Committee on Judiciary said that the judiciary must adjust to the time. "First and foremost, the judiciary has to evolve technologically. Our entire judicial system need be automated right from the filing of court process to judgement delivery. We should evolve a system where certain applications or court documents can be processed and obtained online with one having to be physically at the court premisesÔÇØ.

"We cannot live in the technology age and still operate under analogue system. The advantages of the automation of our judicial process cannot be overemphasized. It will accelerate judicial process, entrench greater efficiency in justice administration and will ease and minimise an ever expanding workloads of judicial officersÔÇØ, Luke added.

Among other things, Luke called for training and retraining of judicial officers and staff of the judiciary, Judicial officers salaries and emoluments to be reviewed regularly and also justice delivery to be expedited in the nation. He added that granting judicial autonomy should inspire hope in the common man and issues of corruption on the bench should be unheard of.

He commended the judiciary for its effectiveness and efficiency despite the myriad of challenges they are facing in the country.

Meanwhile Luke was among the six panelists who discussed the topic : Judicial Autonomy: To Whom Much Is Given; What Is Expected?. The session was Chaired by Emmanuel C. Ukala SAN (Principal Partner E C Ukala & Co) and had as discussants: Mr Onofiok Luke ( Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary) Hon. Justice B B Kanyip( President, National Industrial Court), Hon. Justice O A Williams Rtd (Institute of Paralegal Services), Dr Babatunde Ajibade SAN(Chairman, NBA Judiciary Committee), Mr Uko Udom SAN ( Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice , Akwa Ibom State) and Mr Jonathan Tajdi (Immediate past Secretary General of Nigerian Bar Association).

The theme of the conference is "Law, Lawyers and the Next GenerationÔÇØ. The four day conference will run from the 13th through 16th June 2021 in Uyo.