curator
Administrator
The President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Okey Wali on Monday said judicial reforms in the country would drive its economic and political stability.
Wali, who made the assertion at the opening of its Annual Conference in Makurdi, said it was impossible to attract foreign investments in the country without a credible judicial administration.
"Without an effective and efficient judiciary, there will be no foreign or local investments in Nigeria today," he said.
He said the volume of inflow of investments into the country had a way of affecting the economic stability of the country.
According to him, economic activities cannot be on the increase in Nigeria if the judiciary is weak.
The president said the conference was organised to reflect on the current changes occurring in the legal profession as they relate to the provision of legal services.
He said the changes were influenced by global happenings and had the capacity to influence the marketability of legal services.
Wali said the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, which was still pending at the National Assembly, was aimed at reforming criminal procedure in the country.
He said the bill would be subjected to public hearing to enable stakeholders make contributions that would reshape it for the overall good of the country.
The former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, said the theme ``Justice Delivery: the Challenges and Opportunities for Stakeholders’’, was a clarion call for judicial officers to make adjustments.
Musdapher said the purpose for such adjustments was to provide effective services to the people.
He said the theme suggested that all was not well with the judiciary in the country, and called on judicial officers to take the right steps that would redress the challenges in the sector.
The former chief judge said litigation in the country had fallen short of the requirements of the constitutional provisions since matters were not expeditiously disposed.