A Parody of Judicial Budget- Banire
By DR MUIZ BANIRE, SAN
A recent revelation in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has shown that the entire budget for the judiciary in Nigeria in the year 2020 is the paltry sum of N110 billion naira which is less than one per cent of the entire budget for the country, Dr Muiz Banire has said.
This was contained in a statement issued by Dr Muiz Banire, SAN and made available to TBI Africa in Lagos on Tuesday.
According to Banire, It is sad that a country whose third arm of government is being treated like an ordinary government parastatal is expecting the kind of development attained by countries that make their judiciary part of the government. Judicial funding must not be at the mercy of some potentates whose early morning grunts decide the government policy for the day.
He said: “The current parlous state of events which has been worsened by the covid-19 pandemic has revealed the weakness in the system beyond the comprehension of the sanest. How on earth does a system laying claim to civilization and respect for the judiciary expect a whole justice system of a country as populous as ours to be funded with such an alms-size amount?
“The amount above can hardly account for reasonable salaries for judicial officers expected to shun corruption. In addition to this is the need to provide necessary infrastructure to cater for the emergency needs of the judicial sector that has found itself prostrate in the current crisis.
He said “It is certain that where Nigeria intends to meet its judicial needs to be able to dispense justice to all in order to guarantee economic development, the total allocation meant for the entire sector in the current budget can never be sufficient.
“We implore all stakeholders to wake up and the government should do the needful.
“The infrastructure needed to make the judiciary perform its functions adequately digitally by remote hearing and filing cannot be treated half-heartedly and expect a magical turn-around in the system. The government must make the necessary investment in its justice system in order to ensure economic progress that we really need at this moment in our history.
” All well meaning Nigerians must rise up to insist that no kobo must be reduced again from the original paltry allocation of N110 billion. The proposed reduction again of N11 billion must be resisted otherwise such is a further invitation to anarchy in the country,” Dr Banire added.
