The House of Representatives has cautioned against unwarranted assaults of judicial officers following the siege on the residence of a Supreme Court Justice, Mary Odili.
Onofiok Luke, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, issued the warning during the 2022 budget defence of the National Judicial Council, NJC, on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, in Abuja.
“Of great importance to this committee is the security of judicial officers. We have stated as a committee that we should create an enabling environment, not only a working environment, not just good living conditions, but a secured environment for our judicial officials to operate without hindrance, without any fear of intimidation or harassment,” the lawmaker added.
“We want to condemn the attack on Justice Odili’s residence, a justice of the Supreme Court and we ask that this should not repeat itself. It happened in 2017, this should not be allowed to repeat itself because we are weakening the morale and strength of our judicial officers.”
The committee called for more protection for judicial officers.
Meanwhile, the committee also wants an intervention fund created for the judiciary to upgrade in line with international standards.
“We have intervention fund for sports, we have intervention funds for youths, we have had intervention funds for entertainment, I do not think it will be out of place for the Federal government to have intervention fund for the Judiciary,” he stated, adding that “this is the only way the judiciary can meet up with its competing demands facing the judiciary as we go on.’’
