The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has targeted judges delaying court cases.
According to the CJN, Nigerians will lose confidence in the judiciary if judges continue to delay the execution of cases before them.
The CJN stated this yesterday in Abuja at the third annual National Judicial Council (NJC) conference on judges’ performance evaluation.
Kekere-Ekun expressed concerns over the increased number of pending court cases and the low rate of suit disposition among judges.
“We must be deeply concerned by the increase in pending cases and low disposition rates,” she said.
“As of the first quarter of 2024, we had 243,253 cases pending in our superior courts of record, exclusive of the Supreme Court.
“This total comprises 199,747 civil cases and 43,506 criminal cases.
“At the committee’s last meeting, there was a reduction in case disposal as some judicial officers failed to deliver a single judgment in one quarter. This is simply unacceptable.
“All of us must take a serious note of this alarming situation, and for this purpose, we must re-focus our attention towards enhancing our judicial performance.”
The CJN encouraged judicial officers to explore using information technology and case management innovations to enhance judicial performance.
She also advocated alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation and arbitration, which promote faster case resolution and alleviate judges’ workloads.
“My Lords, ladies and gentlemen, we cannot wish away the growing backlog of cases or expect a different result when we continue to do things the same way,” the CJN said.
“Unless we can justly, speedily, and effectively execute our roles as judicial officers, the populace will lose their confidence in the judiciary, as it is mainly believed, rightly or wrongly, that the judicial process is often painstakingly slow and tedious. Delayed justice is denied justice.
“The introduction of digital case management systems, the judicial performance evaluation software (JPES), virtual courtrooms, e-filing systems, digital databases, web seminars, online meetings, and advanced research engines provide a myriad of tools for efficiency in case disposition.”
