Don’t put nation’s judiciary on trial, Ortom tells Nigerians

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has advised Nigerians against putting the nation’s judiciary on trial, saying they should rather have confidence in it and separate it from politics.

Ortom, who gave the charge at the weekend, while declaring the Benue State 2019/2020 Legal Year open, vowed that as a believer in the rule of law, he would not interfere in the independence of the judiciary.

Represented by his deputy, Benson Abounu, the governor commended the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Aondover Kaka’an for the changes he has brought to the judiciary within his short stay in office, describing the Benue State judiciary as outstanding and the busiest.

Kaka’an described what he called the ‘chicanery’ often committed by lawyers against their clients as strange, noting that such practices have not only eroded confidence in the law profession but have also created suspicion and bad blood among lawyers, their clients and members of the general public.

He also described the theme of the Legal Year, “Professional Ethics and Administration of Justice In The Digital Era,” as timely, saying the rate at which lawyers carelessly file cases in court, dress carelessly and relate with their senior professional colleagues was becoming alarming.