There is no doubt that the judiciary is going to be very busy this year just like in 2022, as the country is going to witness a lot of political matters, in form of election petitions. There will, of course, be other regular criminal and civil cases as well as other pending cases in the courts across the country. However, senior lawyers have expressed their expectations and recommendations for the judiciary this 2023. Onozure Dania writes
Judiciary needs total reform
A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba SAN, while talking about his expectations for the 2023 election year, which will also make the courts very busy, said there should be a total reform so that speedy justice could work to benefit everybody in the country.
He said, “My expectation for the judiciary this year is total reform so that speed of justice works to the benefit of us all.”
Dispense justice without fear or favour
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, on his part said the judiciary should be very strong, reliable, and dependable, dispensing justice to all manner of people without fear or favour, affection or ill will.
He said the judiciary needed to seriously reinvent itself, especially in this year of elections. He added that the judiciary must eschew technicalities in court decisions and ensure that the will of the people as expressed through the ballot box prevails.
“The judiciary must not be seen to be conceiving, incubating and midwifing presidents, governors, and legislators in the hallowed precincts of our court sanctuaries,” Ozekhome said.
Live up to expectations before and after 2023 elections
On his part a professor of Law, Sam Erugo, SAN, said the major expectation from the judiciary was that as the third arm of government, it should be independent enough to play its constitutional role to justly interpret and enforce the Constitution and laws of the land.
He said 2023 being an election year, the judiciary should live up to the reasonable expectations of Nigerians before and after the 2023 national elections.
According to him, the judiciary must ensure that the sovereignty vested in the people of Nigeria is not further hijacked by the strong and mighty to hold the people to more ransom.
He said, “Essentially, the human rights of the people, as enshrined in the Constitution, must be upheld in every situation, including, but limited, to the electoral issues. In the constitutional framework for elections, now strengthened by the new Electoral Act, beyond the role assigned to the Independent National Electoral Commission to organise and conduct elections, the rest of the work, the final decision or word to decide the will of the people, falls on the courts or judiciary.
“Thus, the judiciary must realise this great constitutional role. Failure of the judiciary due to lack of independence, corruption or other influence, or even outright incompetence, will hurt the people. History will not be kind to the perpetrators.”
According to Erugo, there are indications that the political contestation will divide the people the more, but democracy is all about the will of the people, ostensibly the majority; and the politicians must play according to the rules.
He added, “The judiciary remains the arbiter, the last hope to do justice in every case;it must remain neutral and judge fairly in accordance with the law. It must not be compromised, and must not abandon its constitutional role.
“From my study of the pre-election cases so far, the courts have done fairly well, though we still had few cases of questionable decisions from the high courts, but the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court were able to quickly intervene. The courts have shown capacity to do the right thing.
“One hopes the judiciary will be empowered to cope with the pressure of cases flowing from the elections. My recommendation is, essentially, for the judiciary to remain neutral, independent and courageous to pronounce the truth while checking the excesses of the few that could hurt the rising profile of the judiciary. Measures must be put in place to reduce undue pressure by politicians on the judges, and lawyers as well, to influence court decisions.”
Also speaking, Prof Israel Worugji of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar said his expectation was to see a judiciary that commands the admiration and respect of the people and that would discharge its functions without fear or favour.
The don said, “It must do everything to redeem its battered image, in the areas of dealing with corruption in particular.”
Interpretation of rule of law
Another lawyer, Ikechukwu Anima, said, “My expectation from the judiciary this year is to be more focused on the interpretation of the rule of law fearlessly. And to know that they are the bastion of democracy.
“Where there is no rule of law or profound existence of misinterpretation of the rule of law then democracy is a charade, because injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.”
For Kelechukwu Uzoka, the judiciary should be up and doing, judges should be proactive and adjudicate matters speedily.
The lawyer said, “This is a very important year in our country with the general elections coming up. Aside INEC, Nigerians will be looking up to the judiciary as regards decisions from the election tribunals and courts.
“The judiciary should assert its independence and avoid being used, manipulated or bought over by the executive arm of government or politicians.”
Similarly, another lawyer, Bodunrin Adewole, said the judiciary should increase its efficiency, because efficiency translates to justice
“As you know, justice delayed is justice denied. There are two parts of it; there are criminal matters and there are civil matters. In criminal matters the liberty of human beings are involved. If the court system is slow, it is going to affect the liberty of the person involved it will result in injustice.
“In a lot of cases, the police and the prosecution get it wrong. But if the court system is more efficient then you will be able to protect the rights of our people. I want to quickly say that under our constitution, every man is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“In terms of the civil cases, you find disputes relating to contracts lasting six, seven years in court. Some of these cases should be resolved in one or two years, so that people can do other things, especially if a lot of money is tied to it.
“So, that’s another reason the judiciary should be more efficient. I also advocate better use of the ADR to fast-track justice in civil or commercial matters. Already, the judiciary is doing a lot to incorporate arbitration provisions in their rules even up to the Supreme Court but it’s still largely more or less like lip service. So, litigants should be encouraged to explore arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms.
“In a nutshell,I urge an increase in the the efficiency of the courts to protect the rights of the citizens who are charged with criminal offences and the rights and interest of those who are involved in not only contract matters but also land matters and matrimonial causes where the children are involved.
“My recommendations for the judiciary as a whole in 2023 is increased efficiency in our law courts in all state and federal courts.
“The average length of time it takes to decide cases at all levels at present is far from satisfactory as justice delayed is justice denied.
“The Lagos State Judiciary is doing a lot to improve efficiency in terms of online filing and an interactive website. However, more still needs to be done to ensure that arbitration and ADR are viable options available to litigants to reduce the congestion in all our courts to the barest minimum.
“The Lagos State Judiciary 2019 Civil Procedure Rules as well as the 2021 Court of Appeal Rules signify a step in the right direction in terms of provisions for arbitration and ADR and strict compliance with the stipulated times for doing any act.”
Adewole further recommended that regular issuance of practice directions would help to ensure that the state and federal judiciary were in tune with international best practices.
