Of the Judiciary and Nigerian Legal System

The Nigerian judiciary is simply defined as the third arm of government, ranked after the executive and legislative arms. One significant fact about the Nigerian judiciary is that it has not been interrupted like the executive and legislative arms.

One important outcome of this uninterrupted nature is that those who lead it have had the opportunity to grow, and indeed did grow, under the mentorship of experienced justices, judges, legal luminaries and administrators over many years.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria, the apex court in the land, along with the Court of Appeal, Federal High Court, State High Courts, National Industrial Court and other superior courts, are all headed by experienced persons who have gone through decades of mentorship.

For instance, the head of the Nigerian judiciary and Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, assumed leadership of the Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council (NJC), the most powerful judicial body, on August 22, 2024.

The NJC has the power to hire and discipline judicial officials as it oversees the affairs of judges. The council has been active in the last year, including the elevation of 11 justices from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court bench. Its contributions made it possible for the Supreme Court to have a full complement of 21 justices. This allows four panels of five justices each to sit simultaneously, if necessary.

However, the persistent issue of delayed justice delivery has not abated, even though the argument for increasing the number of justices at the Supreme Court was anchored on reducing delays.

Nigerians had hoped that with the increase in the number of justices, significant progress would be made in reducing the backlog of cases before the apex court. Yet, not much has been achieved in this direction.

There are fears that the new legal year may even compound matters, as multiple litigations are expected with the forthcoming 2027 general election whose preparations have already begun.

Just last week, counsel Mr Maxwell Opara, whose client’s case was supposed to be heard by the Supreme Court, had the matter adjourned until November 2028. The suit was first filed in 2018.

The client, frustrated by the long adjournment, told his lawyer: “You have tried all these years trying to convince me that this matter will be resolved. But now I have come to the end; I am abandoning this case in our courts. I will go to the shrine and resolve it in our native way.”

Like Opara’s client, many litigants are frustrated by delays in Nigeria’s justice delivery system. They have lost confidence in the courts, and it is the duty of judges and court officials to restore public trust.

Also troubling is the issue of conflicting judgments from courts of coordinate jurisdiction. There have been several instances of this, the most recent being the Kano emirship tussle.

At the bottom of these problems lies the worrisome issue of corruption allegations often made against judges and court officials. Though in the last year there have been no major high-profile cases of corruption, the sacking of 10 judges of the Imo State judiciary for age falsification by the NJC speaks volumes about the character of some judicial officers.

Under the leadership of CJN Justice Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, the NJC has tried to enforce discipline and scored a major victory with the increase in judges’ salaries.

The council has also stood firm in defence of judicial independence. It demonstrated this when it vehemently opposed attempts by the governor of Imo State to bypass constitutional requirements and separation of powers in appointing an acting Chief Judge. The NJC equally stopped a similar attempt in Benue State when the State House of Assembly moved to remove the Chief Judge of the state.

For the Nigerian judiciary to work effectively and efficiently, other stakeholders in the administration of justice such as the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, state Attorneys-General and Commissioners for Justice, the Nigeria Police, other law enforcement agencies, and the Nigeria Correctional Service must also play their roles in a more effective and efficient manner.