Perspectives on the Nigerian Legal Profession and Judicial Corruption (Published)
It examines the involvement of judges, lawyers and judiciary staff in judicial corruption and also considers the code of conduct in the legal profession in Nigeria. It further examines the role of the Judicial Service Commission, National Judicial Council and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee in the discipline of members of the legal profession. This chapter concludes that whenever any member of the legal profession is found culpable or in breach of the code of conduct or rules of professional conduct, as the case may be, it is not sufficient for him to be dismissed from his judicial office or have his name struck off the roll. He should, in addition, be handed over to the relevant security agency for prosecution where the misconduct constitutes an offence under any law. This is to restore public confidence in the judiciary and the legal profession in Nigeria.
Keywords: Dismissal, Legal profession, Prosecution, judicial corruption, professional misconduct, public confidence and judiciary.
Fighting Judicial Corruption in Nigeria (Published)
This paper examines the fight against judicial corruption in Nigeria. It analyses the arrest of judges and legal practitioners in respect of corrupt practices. It also re-echoes government effort at tackling judicial corruption through the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. It questions the powers of the Department of State Services in respect of investigation and arrest over corrupt practices. It further examines the sanctity of the judiciary in the effort at ridding the judiciary of corruption in Nigeria. The paper also makes comparison with some selected jurisdictions such as the United States of America and Ghana which provide some useful lessons for Nigeria. The paper concludes that there is the need for judicial officers and legal practitioners to shun corrupt practices because judicial corruption diminishes public confidence and interest in the judiciary.
Keywords: Arrest, Corruption, Judiciary, Prosecution, Punishment, Sanctity