Nobel Laurette Prof. Wole Soyinka, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sidi Bage, and other prominent Nigerians have expressed concerns over poor compliance with decisions of courts and other dispute resolution institutions in the country.
While Soyinka stated that such practice should urgently be stamped out, Bage blamed it on government agencies and those in positions of authority.
Prof. Soyinka and Justice Bage spoke yesterday in Abuja at the maiden Nigerian Ombudsman Annual Conference, with the theme: ‘System Building and Compliance: A Key Factor To Good Governance,’ organised by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).
The Nobel Laureate said: ‘I will talk succinctly about a gap that has bothered me for decades. That is the gap, the abyss between decision, between judgment, between recognition, and the victim himself or herself.
‘Why is it that we cannot guarantee the implementation of a declaration, of a judgment? What is the problem with the structure of justice and the victim? Why is it that people who win cases die without seeing the fruit of their endeavours for justice?
‘Why is it that, for instance, when a judgment is delivered in court, in public, it is ignored by agencies of justice? If the court says, for instance, restore her passport, give her her passport back. Why is it that it still takes years, sometimes, even after the death of the plaintiff, the seeker of justice? What we commonly call here as medicine after death. What is the problem?
‘If the court says vacate that land, why is it that the next day, an informal court of justice, with cudgels, with machetes, sets out to contest that piece of land?
‘This is something, perhaps, the Public Complaints Commission can take on as a primary hope in the entire chain of the delivery of justice. This is a problematique that I want to give the commission as a priority even while the regular system is supposed to be taking place.
‘I wish to remind us, by the way, that many, many people have travelled along this path and I think it is about time we answer. It is about time we close this abyss. If you can solve that for me, believe me, I will die happy. I will like to see it implemented.’
Justice Bage, who is the Emir of Lafia in Nasarawa State, averred that the major problem with the dispute resolution mechanism in the country is judgment enforcement.
The retired jurist blamed the reluctance of people and institutions to obey court orders and decisions on a lack of discipline.
He said: ‘You do not need, after a judgment is pronounced by a court, to be reminded again that you need to comply with the decision of our court.
‘It is unfortunate. And this cuts across. Even the government and those of them in authority are the real culprits who would not respect court orders and decisions of courts.
‘The leaders of our country must learn to respect the decisions of our courts because they have to live by example. If you want the ordinary Nigerians to respect the decisions of the courts, it must start from the leadership; then, it will go down.
‘That is why today the ordinary person in the street does not simply obey the orders made by courts. He thinks, since the leadership at the top does not respect court orders, why should he, an ordinary person, obey the orders of courts? It is all a matter of discipline.
‘But it has to start from the leadership. We are often very disappointed when we roll out orders, and the first culprits are those in authority, those who refuse to obey the orders of courts. When they obey, the others in the street will have no business not obeying court orders,’ Justice Bage said.
PCC’s Chief Commissioner Bashir Abubakar stressed the importance of building strong systems in a democratic society, noting that the country has no shortage of laws, policies, or well-intentioned individuals.
Abubakar noted that what is lacking is the consistent application of those laws through durable systems, adding that over-reliance on the goodwill or authority of individuals, however noble, creates fragility.
The PCC boss, who spoke about the achievements of the agency under his leadership, said institutions that depend on personalities rather than processes do not outlast generations.
He stressed the need to transform the Ombudsman from a largely reactive complaints-handling body to a proactive institution that identifies systemic weaknesses, advises on policy gaps, and helps shape a culture of accountability.
Abubakar added: ‘Our vision remains to restore the dignity of the citizen through the enthronement of the rule of law and protection against administrative injustice.
‘Our mission is to deliver a service that is responsive, efficient, and free of charge to every Nigerian and resident who seeks redress.’
Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said from his experience working with member countries of the Commonwealth for the past three decades, the institution of the Ombudsman, as an independent mechanism for dealing with public complaints, is widely acknowledged as an important tool in the pursuit of good governance.
He said the institution plays an important role in ensuring that citizens avail themselves of justice when they experience a treatment they consider unjust.
He asked the PCC management to raise awareness about its activities, which provide less expensive and less cumbersome facilities and which serve as a refuge for the aggrieved common man and woman.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, assured the gathering that the Federal Government would continue to support the PCC in strengthening its capacity and modernising its operations because the Renewed Hope Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu considered it ‘as a vital component of our democratic governance’.
Akume, who was represented by a director in his office, Mrs. Augusta Beke Warrens, said such support must be matched by performance.
He urged the PCC to maintain high ethical standards, deliver timely justice, and make its impact visible in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
The SGF stressed the essence of the commission’s duty of ensuring a peaceful society.
Akume said: ‘Every unresolved grievance is a warning sign that we must not ignore. Every avoidable delay is a cost imposed on a citizen, and every act of administrative high-handedness weakens the social contract.’
The AGF, who dwelt on the need to build strong systems, said: ‘When we fail to build strong systems, discretion becomes tyranny. Delay becomes punishment. Connections replace competence.
‘The powerful escape accountability, while ordinary Nigerians bear the cost of inefficiency and indifference of government institutions and their officials.
‘But when we labour to build strong systems like this conference is calling on us to do, public service becomes predictable and people-centred because resources are utilised for their intended purposes and the people begin to believe rightly that the government truly works for them.’
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who was represented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen, praised the PCC for its good work and promised continued support.
Former President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, who moderated a discussion session, noted that the question should go beyond whether or not Nigeria has institutions, laws and regulations.
Justice Bulkachuwa said: ‘We should ask whether our institutions have sufficiently embedded the system that makes compliance routine, accountability effective and good governance sustainable.
‘We should also consider a deeper question: Do our institutions work because the systems are strong or because particular individuals are strong?
‘If an institution performs exceptionally under one leader and deteriorates when that leader leaves, then what is built was not yet a strong institution, but a successful administration.’