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A newly retired
judge of the Federal High Court, Akinjide Ajakaiye, yesterday, berated
judicial officers for not being sincere with the dictates of their oath
of office.

Mr Ajakaiye, who
has spent 12 years in the service of the Federal High Court, was
speaking at a valedictory session held in his honour by the leadership
of the court. “Since the constitution, which is the organic law of the
land, has empowered the judiciary to do justice to all manner of
persons whether high or low, each judicial officer must then do justice
without fear or favour, ill-will or affection,” he said. “It was trite
that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man, particularly
having regard to the decadent and perilous socio-economic and political
situation of the country.” He added that the judiciary is placed in a
position to enforce and preserve sanity and social stability. “That is
why judicial officers ought to brace up to the occasion and be
circumspect in all they do,” he said.

Corruption in judiciary

Mr Ajakaiye is also
of the view that corruption, which he described as is the main hurdle
to progress in the country, has unfortunately found its way into the
judiciary. “For the judiciary to be able to play the sacred role
assigned to it very well, it must ensure that both the appointers and
appointees to the bench are men of proven honour and integrity and most
importantly those who have fear of God in them,”

The retired just
also said that “appointments should not be based on sentiments,
political considerations; neither should it be at the whims and
caprices of the appointing authorities. Merit should no longer be
sacrificed for mediocrity.” Speaking at the event, the Chief Judge of
the Federal High Court, Daniel Abutu, described the retired judge as a
man who, during the period of his service year, ensured that justice
was dispensed judicially and judiciously. In his remarks, a
representative of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Femi Atoyebi, who
described Mr Ajakaiye as a “very special breed”, called for the
creation of a special division of the court to handle admiralty cases
because of its peculiarity. According to him, such creation will
engender expertise and professionalism among judges on admiralty
matters.