An independent Judiciary is One of the Pillars of Our Democracy

 Any democracy, without an independent judiciary, is doomed. Any democracy,that stifles the voice of the people,can never be acceptable to any rationally minded person. What is democracy, if we "the people" cannot freely exercise our freedom and right to air our views,seek and get justice from the law courts,without being harassed by agents of Government? Today it is Sowore,tomorrow it could be,anybody.

Better Nigeria Group(BNG), a pro democracy/good governance advocacy group  is concerned and worried about the tone of the debate around the contemplated
trial of  Sowore .  We do not wish to say
anything about whether Sowore, should or should not have been charged, or the substance or lack of substance of the charges against him; those are matters beyond our knowledge. Our comments here are directed to one issue only and that is the implication on the attack on  judiciary as a whole, place to lack of the independence of the judiciary,hence our doubt that , Mr Sowore will receive a fair trial.

The attacks on the Judiciary recently, by agents of this current Government and by extension this current Government herself,are without substance and we view them,as a clear and present danger, pointing to the fact that the judiciary has lost her independence,as her operations are, at the mercy of agents of  the executive arm of Government. Our democracy and democratic values are being undermined, deliberately.

This is condemnable and as a group,we condemn this and we appeal to the Government/ her agents to urgently, retrace their steps and allow our democracy to thrive.

The recent invasion of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu's court by agents of the DSS in a bid to rearrest Sowore , as  given prominence in the media,which to our knowledge has never been denied, and comments attributed to a spokesperson for President Buhari , Sowore's
Guilt or innocence cannot be established by rhetorical state-
ments. The question whether Mr Sowore is guilty or innocent must be decided by the courts and not by DSS; so
too, the question whether or not he gets a fair trial is a matter for
the judiciary. But can the judiciary give a fair trial with these obvious and overbearing attacks and harassments of the courts and her authorities,which is
 harmful to the  judicial process,
to our constitutional democracy, and to our country's reputation? We doubt it.
We appeal to  the government, ruling party  and their supporters, opinion makers,commentators and the media, to let the courts decide on
these issues. We are confident that they will do so without fear or
favour. That is their constitutional duty and there is no reason to believe that it will not be discharged,if they are allowed to carry out their duties without undue interference.

The times we are in   are critical times , therefore,we call on all  citizens and especially lawyers, to remain vigilant to protect the independence
of the judiciary,asi recent years, and in recent days, attacks on the judiciaryave increased, while public understanding of the essential role of the judiciary has diminished ,because the judiciary is constrained from defending itself publicly and is limited in its ability to explain its role to the public, the organized bar and civil societies must directly and
legally address these attacks and defend the judiciary. Our constitutional democracy depends on the proper separation of powers, which of course, includes an independent judiciary.

The Nigerian Bar Association, Civil society organization, pro democracy organizations and Good governance advocacy groups, like Better Nigeria Group(BNG) ,  Guild of Editors , Media and other professional legal organizationsh steadfastly supported the independence of thejudiciary and the status of the judiciary as a coequal branch of government and we will not relent until a saner society is achieved.
The privilege of practicing law and general human existence/endeavors, carries with it the sacred obligation to protect the rule of law, one of the elements of which is an independent judiciary,therefore all legal practitioners/organization must stand up to be counted ,in this struggle to save our democracy and rebuild our country to enable us attain real nationhood.

The foundation of the rule of law and the principle that no
person, not even the king or the sovereign, is above the
law, which gave rise to the right to due process of law and
the right to trial by jury of one’s peers.
 An independent judiciary is essential to the
rule of law and has stated that judicial independence
“can be shattered, if the society, laws exists to serve ,does
not take care to assure its preservation
“To no one
will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or
justice.

Furthermore,Better Nigeria Group( BNG) frowns at the politicization of the judges confirmation process ,which
causes people to lose confidence in the independence of
the judiciary and further erodes confidence in our most basic institutions of government. It leads people to assume that judges rule in adherence to a particular political ideology or inclination ,instead of being neutral and judge cases and pass judgements on merits. Moreover, as we have seen recently the surge of money to support judicial candidates or to seek to remove judges
undermines the public’s confidence in the fairness of our
courts.
Our system is not perfect in application.
“In the final analysis, the only viable
alternative to the rule of force is the rule of law.” It is
incumbent upon all of us—it is our burden and our
privileges, as Nigerians, to ensure that our government and our citizens
remain true to the Constitution and to the rule of law.
And as noted, by definition, the rule of law requires an
independent judiciary.
Better Nigeria Group ( BNG) once again, condemn the recent attack on our judiciary and we request a thorough investigation into the activities of our supposedly Government's secret agents, against our democratic institutions,even as we urge all well meaning Nigerians to use all peaceful,democratic and lawful means to stand up and kick against ,all forms of oppression and oppressive tendencies of agents of current democratic Government. 

OUR HARD EARNED DEMOCRACY WILL NOT DIE.             
  Wabara Emeka Gerald         

For: Better Nigeria group ( BNG)