Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has called legal practitioners in the country to refrain from making condemnatory statements on court judgments in the media that put the integrity of the Nigerian judicial system into serious question.
Diri, who spoke at a ceremonial court session in Yenagoa to mark the commencement of the 2023-2024 legal year in the state, stated that the practice among lawyers to speak to the press after court judgments often condemning such rulings undermined the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary.
Represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, he stressed that there was no need for lawyers and their clients to make unguarded and disparaging comments about unfavorable court rulings as they had the opportunity to appeal up to the Supreme Court.
Diri, therefore, called on legal practitioners to stop what he called “the media practice of law”.
He, however, called on members of the Bench to be above board in their judgments to protect the image of the judiciary as the hope of the common man.
The governor said, “The first people who give the impression that justice has been miscarried are lawyers. The lawyers are the first to come out of the court to address the press condemning court judgments.
“Whatever you call the judgment that comes out of the court, that is exactly what the public ends up calling it. I really want us to caution ourselves. Let us stop the media practice of law in our country to safeguard the integrity of the justice system.”
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