Some judges failed to deliver a single judgment in one quarter, it’s unacceptable— CJN

Some judges failed to deliver a single judgment in one quarter, it’s unacceptable— CJN

Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), says Nigerians will lose confidence in the judiciary if judges continue to delay execution of cases before them.

The CJN spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the third annual
National Judicial Council (NJC) conference on judges’ performance evaluation.

 

Kekere-Ekun expressed concerns over the increase in the
number of pending cases in courts and the low rate of disposition of suits
among judges.

 

“We must be deeply concerned by the increase in the number
of pending cases and low disposition rates,” she said.

 

“As of the first quarter of 2024, we had a total of 243,253
cases pending in our superior courts of record, exclusive of the supreme court.

 

“This total is comprised of 199,747 civil cases and 43,506
criminal cases.

 

“At the last meeting of the committee, there was a reduction
in case disposal as some judicial officers failed to deliver a single judgment
in one quarter. This is simply unacceptable.

 

 “It is imperative for
all of us to 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 the use of
information technology and case management innovations to enhance judicial
performance.

 

She also advocated for the use of alternative dispute
resolution, such as mediation and arbitration, which promote faster case
resolution to alleviate the workload on judges.

 

“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 mostly 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.”

Source: Some judges failed to deliver a single judgment in one quarter, it’s unacceptable— CJN

 - NigerianEye
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