Kogi CJ, Judges, To Magistrates: Shun Corruption, Be Ethical, Reap The Reward

Deliberations on intolerance to corruption and ethical conducts at the Magisterial level of the Kogi State Judiciary took the centre stage on Thursday, 24th October, 2024, when Judges of the superior courts in the state rallied Magistrates in the state to exchange views and experiences that would further position Magistrate’s Courts better in administration of justice within their jurisdiction.

The event which was held at the NBA House, Lokoja, was organized in conjunction with the state’s branch of the Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria. It had the main objective of building the capacity of Magistrates to adequately respond to current developments and trends of adjudication at their level and in tandem with the vision of the state’s Council of Judges.

The Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Josiah Joe Majebi, spoke on the adverse effect of corruption in the system while Hon. Justice Moses Gwatana spoke on forms and styles of judgement writing. Hon. Justice Bamidele Aina delivered paper on Code of Conduct and the professional ethics expected of Magistrates.

In their good-will messages, other High Court Judges present encouraged Magistrates to be firm in their decisions and reminded them that the integrity of the institution must be maintained at all times.

The Hon. CJ, represented by Hon. Justice Angelina Onyene Salihu, tasked the Magistrates on maintaining impeccable personal integrities that would sustain the unrivaled incorruptible records of Judges of the state who are also known to be above board and fearless in delivering judicial decisions fairly.

Warning against political patronage amongst the Magistrates, the CJ advised those hobnobbing with politicians to take caution and desist saying he would not hesitate to sanction any compromised lower court Judge. He also gave the option for such persons to exit themselves from the system before it becomes too late as he said either compulsory retirement or outright sack would be the possible sanction.

While recalling that attention was placed more on fair administration of justice during their time as Magistrates, Justice Salihu called on the Magistrates to be more proactive and focused on their jobs and keen attention to discharging their duties properly rather than focusing on monetary gains. She said should a Judge compromise by collecting money from litigants, such Judge would be confused and would be bound to dispense justice with bias by dancing to the tune of the paymaster. More so, he will be neither here nor there in his judgment.

Earlier, Hon. Justice Siyaka Momohjimoh Usman, President of the state’s Customary Court of Appeal and Chairman of the event stressed, in his remark, the need to eschew all forms of corruption as he asked the Magistrates to be patience saying good things were coming their ways. He assured them that as the head of the Judiciary, the CJ was working assiduously to improve the welfare of Judges of the lower courts in the state. He advised that they also face their jobs diligently.

While also advising them to be always punctual at their duty stations, he tasked them on taking responsibilities hammering on timely delivery of justice. Failing to deliver judgment within time, he said, can lead to disciplinary measures against a Magistrate as it has happened to some judges of superior courts in the country as the NJC disciplinary measure was not necessarily due to financial corruption but for delaying justice delivery.

After saying the summary of the training was to address observations during High Court Appeals sessions, Justice Gwatana’s paper on Judgement Writing hinted on precision and accuracy in writing a judgement.

He requested Judges of the lower courts to always apply their analytical minds when writing judgements saying rather than being verbose and sometimes extravagant by meaninglessly consuming pages of paper, there should be a paradigm shift in writing and even delivering judgements.

He said laws are meant to be properly interpreted by the Magistrates as he expressed confidence in their ability but cautioned them on citing too many authorities and verbatim recording of evidence in judgements which he said were not true reflection of quality judgements.

It would amount to waste of time and energy if after devoting so much efforts, an appellate court sets aside such labour. According to him, succinctly written judgement should only list salient and cogent points that addresses the matter before the court and written in clearly understandable words.

Justice Gwatana who also delivered the goodwill message of the Grand Kadi of the state, Hon. Kadi Abdulkareem Ayikoye Aruwa, urged the Magistrates to uphold the state’s Judiciary integrity that has made
Kogi State Judiciary stand tall in the nation.

Quoting from the Holy Bible, the Hadith and the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, Justice Aina, on his part, took the Magistrates through a paper that touched on the requirements of a quintessential jurist who must not indulge in or be seen to be involved in acts capable of tarnishing his or her personal image and that of the organisation.

He noted that as Magistrates, they should be conscious of the fact that they are constantly on moral trials because they are God’s representatives in the affairs of men.

He said a Judge’s charisma should not be mistaken because he must always comply with moral principles which governs individual’s behaviors.

They should know that as people are watching and studying Judge’s conducts, even movements and gestures could be sources of suspicion. So the Judge must be constantly mindful of his actions or even inactions at all times.

Further throwing light on the intention of the parley, Hon. Justice Abubakar Suleiman Ibrahim, who moderated the session, added too that the judiciary is always in the eyes of the world and any impression about it is not limited to the superior courts but the actions of the lower courts also count in determining any perception. He specifically reminded them of the importance of convicting a suspect before sentencing too.

Other judges present at the event were Hon. Justices Etsu Umar, Yahaya Adamu, Aisha Uwani Muhammed, Sulayman Abdallah, Clement Kekere, Joseph Sunday Ajesola, Ojoma Rachael Haruna and Beatrice Ada Ezema while 98% of the Magistrates in the state were in attendance.

The Talk-Shop finally went into a closed-door session for the participants to interact freely with the Judges.

According to the state’s Chairman of the Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria, Ibrahim Denja Eleson Esq., the Talk-shop satisfied the need to reorientate, train and remind the Magistrates of their sacred duties of administering Justice at their level.

Information Unit, High Court of Justice, Lokoja.