CJN, NJI chiefs decry unwholesome practices by judiciary workers

Posted by: Eric Ikhilae, Abuja in News 9 hours ago

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar and the Administrator of the 

National

 Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Rosaline Bozimo, have asked court officials to desist from engaging in corruption and other unethical conduct.

While the CJN warned that any judicial worker caught indulging in the leakage of judgment, bribery and related acts would face legal consequences, the NJI boss said the judiciary could no longer tolerate unwholesome practices by court workers because of their impact on public perception of the court system.

They spoke at the opening session of a national workshop for secretaries, court registrars, process clerks and bailiffs at the NJI in Abuja. It was organized by the institute.

Represented by Justice Walter Onnoghen of the Supreme Court, the CJN noted that “these corrupt activities of the judicial workers have raised serious issues of credibility and integrity about the persons employed to assist the judicial officers in their duties.

“I therefore warn you not to involve  in any misconduct, no matter how minimal. If you indulge in any misconduct and you are caught or suspected to have done so, you will be disgraced out of the judiciary.”

Addressing the over 600 participants at the workshop with the theme: “Revisiting the Code of Conduct for Staff of the Judiciary”, designed to acquaint them with the salient provisions of the Code of Conduct for court employees, Justice Bozimo said the training became necessary because there was gradual, but frightening deviation from the acceptable conduct by judicial employees, amounting to judicial misconduct.

She went on: “This dangerous deviation can no longer be tolerated as it has caused serious damage to the image and integrity of the judiciary.

  “Surprisingly, it has been observed that judiciary workers are not even aware of the existence of the Code of Conduct. As a result of this ignorance, there is a gap between the Code of Conduct and the people it is meant to guide.  This workshop is designed to fill that gap.”

Justice Bozimo, a former chief judge of Delta State, said the workshop was meant to teach participants the rudiments of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with the hope that the knowledge they would acquire would assist them in doing their work diligently, expeditiously and dexterously.

“No worker of the judiciary of the participants’ cadre can perform his or her duties without the requisite knowledge of the use and application of the computer, be it laptop, desktop, I-Pad, or tablets,” she said.