Justice Karibi-Whyte

A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, has charged the Ministry of Justice to drive the crusade for speedy administration of justice in Nigeria.

Karibi-Whyte made this known when he visited the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We are here to underscore the significance of the office of the minister of justice in the national effort to move Nigeria on the path of social, political and economic rectitude.
“It is important that our laws are enforced in a way that inspires confidence in the Nigerian legal system.
“We genuinely believe that getting our legal system to hold everyone accountable has a realistic prospect of changing the way we think about our society, economy and democracy,” he said.
The retired judge said that a body known as “Initiative for Socio-Cultural Fairness and Equity” had been established to drive the crusade but needed the backing of the minister and the ministry.
He said that the body, which would be launched soon, was founded to promote a system that gives equal chances in life to every Nigerian citizen regardless of their identity.
He noted that more reforms were needed to strengthen the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) which had made remarkable improvement to enhance speedy criminal litigation.
“This is to ensure that both criminal and civil cases are dealt with expeditiously and fairly.
“It may not require legislative amendment but an introduction of an efficient case management system, which a new rule of procedure can conveniently provide,” he said.
He said that the group’s idea was to promote moderate reforms to energise the system of litigation, inspire confidence in the legal system, drive efficiency and transparency in case management.

(NAN)