Problem of Nigerian Judiciary is Capacity, not Independence – Sen. Basiru

He said that weak is affecting the ability of the Judiciary to fairly and efficiently dispense justice.

Basiru made this known to newsmen on the sidelines of a public lecture organised by the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kwara Chapter, held in Ilorin on Thursday.

According to him, some of the challenges identified in the new age include new thinking, new ideas about Nigerian affairs, poor infrastructure of the courts, Court congestion (dockets filled with criminal and civil cases), a poor investigation by security agencies and poor prison condition.

“Other challenges are lengthy pre-trial detention leading to delay in the trial. There is also the recurring issue of allegations of corruption in the judiciary.

“The problem of corruption is a social problem and in the case of the judiciary, the NJC has been forthright in dealing with erring judicial officers.

“The anti-corruption stance of the present administration is gaining momentum and will no doubt go along way in addressing the issues of corruption in the judiciary, ” said the lawmaker.

He expressed the need to address the infrastructure deficits and palpable conditions of the court.

He said that the courtrooms all over the country are poorly equipped while libraries are inadequate or not in existence.

He suggested that government must upgrade the courtrooms through the use of technology in achieving a speedy and fair resolution of cases.

He said further that the judiciary requires the appointment of additional judges and magistrates to attend to a large number of criminal and civil cases suffering delays due to the heavy workload of judicial officers.