J. S. OKUTEPA SAN

The amendment to the Nigerian constitution to increasing the compulsory age of retirement for all judicial officers of our superior courts of record may be good news to some judicial officers, but I think that the monumental damage that amendment will do to the psyche of most judicial officers and aspiring lawyers who want to go to the bench will be incalculable and unquantifiable.

There are likely to be stagnations of some judges at the trial courts for long. Lawyers may not get appointed to the bench again due to lack of vacancies. Some Chief Judges who treat their colleagues on the bench as slaves have now been empowered to become judicial emperors with super powers of domination over their colleagues on the bench.

Few days ago, I twitted on the danger of this amendment and a good number of people on the bench reacted. One of the reactions I got reads thus: “I was so impressed by your response to the new bill and I completely agree with your views. The bill was sponsored by the heads of courts for personal and selfish interests and this perpetual stay in office/power is a recipe for dictatorship, hindering career progression and ultimately lead to stagnation for trial judges and those aspiring to be judges as where there’s no exit then there can be no entry for the aspiring lawyers/magistrates. It is also counter productive as the demands of being a trial judge is more tedious than the appellate courts where there’s no full trial.If proper surveys were done and judicial officers heard properly before this amendments were done, it will have been apparent to the law makers that what judicial officers need in Nigeria is not an increase of retirement age”.

This and many other reactions speak volumes to the dangers of this amendment. For me and many Nigerians, Nigerian judiciary needs true independence and not increament to the age of retirement. They need independence in finances. They need good and functional infrastructures to perform their judicial functions maximally. The long hand writing by Nigerian judges on the bench is too archaic and analogous to accord with modernity.

Nigerian judiciary needs non-interferences either political or otherwise in the performances of their judicial functions not incremental age of retirement. The unhygienic judicial environment in Nigeria has suffocated the delivery of quality justice in Nigeria. Majority of judicial officers are suffering in silence. Suffering and smiling. Apologies to Fela. They cannot talk.

Judicial officers get intimidated daily for performing their judicial functions. What we need is to accord judicial officers and judiciary the respect due to them and then let Nigerian governments obey court orders and judgments.

Increasing the retirement age of judicial officers without providing them with the necessary modern infrastructures and providing them undiluted environment to work is akin to subjecting them to occupational punishment.
I think this amendment needs to be looked at again.