Stop unnecessary complaints against judges – CJN warns, threatens sanctions

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun has threatened to sanction all those involved in levelling unnecessary complaints against judges.

The CJN issued the threat at the Justices of the Court of Appeal’s annual conference which took place on Abuja on Monday, December 9.

At the event themed, “Judicial introspection”, the CJN said the National Judicial Council is working to ensure that there are sanctions for every frivolous allegations made against any judge.

She said, “There is a growing negative perception of the Judiciary. We must all, individually and collectively, work towards changing negative perception.”

She, however, stated that while the council will continue to look into genuine complaints, it would not tolerated frivolity.

“And, we are looking at ways to ensure that where frivolous allegations are made, there are consequences,” Justice Kekere-Ekun said.

She also expressed her worry over the rising cases of conflicting judgements delivered by Court of Appeal.

She added that this issue can be solved at conferences of judges where cases are discussed and lessons learnt are shared among colleagues.

She said, “Now, the issue of conflicting decisions is one of great concern in our community at present time. And, one of the reasons that we have conflicting decisions is because many panels do not hold conferences to discuss all reserved judgments.

“So, holding conferences, exchanging opinions and ideas on matters that come before us is extremely essential.

“We have presiding justice here. And if it has not been your practice, I want to appeal to you that you start making it a practice. It is a very, very essential tool in the work that we do,” Justice Kekere-Ekun added.