A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof Sani Adam has said there is need to revamp the nation’s judiciary system which he noted was gradually being overwhelmed by corruption.
He also said the judiciary has failed woefully.
Prof Adam, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, at the University of Abuja, was recently elevated to the position of SAN by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LLPC).
He said lawyers must work to revamp the judiciary because if the judiciary is doing what it is supposed to do, there will be timely dispensation of justice without delay.
He said: ‘’I must admit that there is so much corruption in the judiciary and all lawyers must work to revamp the judiciary because if the judiciary is doing what it is supposed to do, there will be timely dispensation of justice without delay.
‘’Time lines and guidelines should be set for all the cases and the court should be able to deal with criminal cases speedily. I assure you that if that is done, there will be sanity, security and timely dispensation of justice.
‘’All the problems we are having today is because the judiciary has failed and it has failed woefully. It is our collective responsibility to reform our laws to ensure that cases are dispensed immediately, with all honesty and sincerity.
‘’What is happening today is that the judiciary has been embedded by corruption. The greatest corruption is the inability to dispense justice as at when required.
“There is bribery from the angle of law enforcement; there is bribery from the aspect of dispensing justice. We have a lot of challenges and it is our collective duty to do that. Lawyers have the greatest responsibility to lead in this revolution.”
Vice-Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, vowed to ensure the institution does not witness another protest by students.
While describing a recent protest by students of the university as highly regrettable, he said that an investigation has been launched to unravel the remote causes of the students uprising.
He added that the university would not allow anything derail it from the reforms it has undertaken to reposition the institution to be at par with its counterparts on the global scene.
The vice- chancellor stated these during an event to honour Prof Adam, on his recent elevation to the position of SAN by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LLPC).
He said: ‘’It is unfortunate that the students resolved to stage a protest. The truth is that this university is on its way forward and not backward. It is a university where before now; some people do not register throughout the year, some people graduate even without registration.
‘’It is a university where a lot of students did not understand that we have a deadline. We as a university are responsible for training people so that when they become leaders tomorrow, they are matured enough to do the right thing.
‘’We are going to do research and investigate to know exactly where the problem lies. Whatever has happened will never happen again. My only concern is how to move the university to greater heights. I want to set a standard whereby this university will be able to compete with its counterpart globally.”
The VC who urged Prof Adams to use his elevation to promote peace and common development in the country, said UniAbuja would remain proud to be an institution that produced a Senior Advocate of Nigeria within the academic community.
“For them to appoint one of us to be equal to that task is indeed a thing of pride to this university. We are proud of Adam and I want you to know that wherever you go, bear in mind that you are representing the University of Abuja.
‘’We have come together to celebrate him because it is an achievement that is exemplary. What he has achieved to become a SAN is an indication of hard work and I want everybody to key into that example,” the VC said.
The Nation