The relevance of the banking industry to national economic and social development is indisputable. In recent times, however, there has been a lot of revolution in that sector of the economy. The Central Bank of Nigeria has since 2009 embarked upon a series of reforms aimed at repositioning the banking sector, following the crisis resulting from the global financial meltdown. The first part of the two-phase reforms was to restore financial stability, which was severely threatened as a result of the crisis. That process led to the removal of the chief executives officers of eight banks that were adjudged to be in grave situation. A total sum of N620bn was also injected into the operations of the banks. The second part consists of long term measures aimed at fostering financial system stability and repositioning the banking system to drive development in the real sector. This move has made the process of recapitalisation of the banks, acquisition of some weak banks by the stronger ones and the merger between banks to give rise to a lot of dynamism in the banking industry. According to experts, these complexities, which have vast implications in banking and allied matters, will serve as a litmus test for the judiciary. Mindful of these challenges, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute on Wednesday, convened a national conference for judges as part of efforts aimed at ensuring that their skills and knowledge were updated in the area of financial jurisprudence. The seminar, with theme, "Banking and judiciary reforms in Nigeria" was convened to enable bank chiefs as well as judges to brainstorm on contemporary banking and legal issues with a view to improving the Nigerian economy. Delivering the keynote address, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, said that the sanitisation process in the banking industry had some consequences, which would require the intervention of the courts. He called on the regulatory agencies to ensure sound regulation and management of operations in the banking sector with a view to creating the desired environment for economic growth. The CJN, however, called on judges to remain resolute in interpreting and applying the relevant laws in order to save the banking industry from further decline. He said, "Judges who are called upon to hear and determine disputes relating to banking sector must, as with other matters, treat such cases with dispatch and the highest sense of integrity, independence and impartiality." He said that the judiciary was working hard to institute reforms that would be enduring and ultimately strengthen the system of justice delivery in the country. The CJN also said, "Judges are enjoined to exhibit the highest level of judicial intelligence and wisdom when handling transnational and bank related crimes such as money laundering, financing of terrorism, mail fraud, credit and debit card fraud, computer fraud, stock manipulation, round tripping, insider trading, fraudulent and false accounting. "These crimes are usually extremely complex, highly specialised and very profitable to the extent that there is the tendency of perpetrators of these serious crimes to exploit any opportunity to infiltrate the judicial system in order to pervert the course of justice." But the CBN Governor, Mr. Sanusi Lamido, commended the judiciary for complementing the reforms in the banking industry. He, however, said that prosperity of the economy needed to be hinged on a pool of well paid, intellectually sound judges of unblemished character and unquestionable integrity. Others are a robust framework for enforcing property and contract rights, strengthening and streamlining the legislative process to facilitate speedy promulgation of relevant legislation, adequate funding for law enforcement agencies as well as minimising interlocutory and ex-parte applications in cases where they did not serve any purpose other than to delay the course of justice. He was making reference to a series of interlocutory and ex-parte injunctions served in favour of aggrieved parties that dragged the apex bank to court over alleged inconsistencies in the current recapitalisation exercise in the banking sector. Represented by the Director, Legal Department, CBN, Mr. Simon Onekutu, Sanusi said, "I have often reiterated that banking sector reform alone is not a sufficient pre-condition for economic development. "Economic and financial reforms must be complemented by reforms in other sectors, particularly the justice sector, for greater effectiveness in improving private sector participation in economic activities." Economic prosperity is hinged on the availability of appropriate legal infrastructure, which should minimise recourse to interlocutory and ex-parte applications, especially in cases where they serve no useful purpose other than to delay the course of justice. Sanusi added, "In appropriate cases, for example, where it is necessary to preserve assets or protect them from being dissipated or destroyed, ex-parte applications for injunctions may be expedient but except in such cases, it will serve the course of justice better if the other party is put on notice and allowed to be heard first, before an interlocutory order is issued." The Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Umaru Eri, said that the administration of justice in any society could only be seen to be fair, efficient and effective if it had its foundation on the rule of law. He said, "It is expected that bankers should also base their practice on the notions of the rule of law, due process and equity. "It is against this backdrop that I condemn without mincing words the practice where insider abuse and breach of fiduciary duties on the part of bankers contribute to failure of banks and loss of depositors funds."
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