In what appeared to be his last ceremony conducted to usher in a new legal year, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmoud Mohammed proudly declared: “By the will of the Almighty, I am leaving the Supreme Court in a better shape than I met it. Indeed, in the past year, this court has witnessed numerous improvements, both in terms of physical infrastructure and statutory functioning.

According to CEOAFRICA’s source, News Telegraph, Justice Mohammed was apparently dwelling on his achievements following a series of reforms carried out in his almost two years in office as Nigeria’s Chief Justice. Although the CJN spoke at the commencement of the new legal year of the Supreme Court and the investiture of the new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) on many of his reforms, he is worried that the judiciary he is leaving behind may be compromised by some bad eggs on the Bench.

He said “Judges must be able to hold the balance between order and chaos, harmony and violence, prosperity and poverty.” Little wonder, the chief justice of Nigeria who will bow out on November 10 is being commended for a number of reforms carried out by his leadership especially his tenure as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) which has been very remarkable. There have been a lot of disciplinary measures taken against erring judges.

In two years of his stewardship, no fewer than 20 judges were shown the way out on allegations of bribery and corruption while scores are still under investigation. In September, three judges including the Chief Judge of Enugu State were axed by the National Judicial Council (NJC), the judiciary’s highest ruling body, chaired by Justice Mohammed on sundry allegations of bribery and corruption.

The judges-Justices Innocent Umezulike (Enugu Chief Judge), Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya (Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division) and Kabiru Auta of the Kano State judiciary, got the boot. Their sack was predicated on petitions which accused them of soiling their hands and compromising their oath of office.

For instance, Justice Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal was recommended for compulsory retirement from office to President Muhammadu Buhari, pursuant to the ‘findings’ by the Council following the allegations in the petition written by Nnamdi Iro Oji against him and Justices Husseini Muktar, F. O. Akinbami and J. Y. Tukur, all justices of the Court of Appeal who sat on Election Appeal Panel in the Owerri Division of the Court during the 2015 general elections.

These includes among others corruption, malice and vindictiveness; and giving perverse and conflicting decisions on the same issue in similar matters in Appeal CA/ OW/EPT/SN/50/2015: Chief Dr. David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex vs Hon. Mao Onuabunwa & Anor; CA/OW/EPT/SN/47/2015; Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu & Anor vs Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa & Ors; and CA/OW/ EPT/HR/61/2015: Nnamdi Iro Oji vs Nkole Uko Ndukwe & 16 Ors.

They were however found guilty on the grounds “that there was evidence that the petitioner met with Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya thrice in his residence in Sokoto, Gwarinpa, Abuja and Owerri, where on each occasion, he demanded from him the sum of N200,000.000 (two hundred million naira) to influence the Court of Appeal Panel in Owerri or risk losing the case.”

While appraising his tenure, the retiring CJN in his words said “in the past year, the judiciary has once again had to address the perennial issue of delays in the administration of justice.” No doubt, Justice Mohammed deserves a good rest, having contributed substantially to the development of the nation’s jurisprudence.

History will not forget him as it is on record that his tenure brought some level of sanity to the judiciary by exposing his colleagues who are corrupt. We must commend Justice Mohammed for attaining this rare feat; for sanitising the judiciary of corrupt judges. We hold him in high esteem as he is retiring as a man without any blemish and as someone who is leaving judiciary better than he met it.

In fairness, the retiring Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) must be commended in terms of an improved technology of sort in the judiciary. It is on record that the nation’s judiciary has adopted the use of Information and Communications Technology which has in no small measure helped to bring court processes in line with the expectation of the millennial generation of citizens who crave swift 21st Century system of justice.

This has really made the Supreme Court to become a pilot court for the judiciary’s drive for the historic launch of the Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS) Software, which was developed in order to facilitate the transition to a paperless adjudication system, through the automation of the process of filing, service and notifications via hearing notices, among many other innovations.

For the first time, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) received a boost following the effort of the retiring chief justice as lawyers and litigants are now opting for the mechanism as a process of resolving disputes. These lofty reforms initiated by Justice Mohammed will forever put him far ahead of other Justices before him.