New Telegraph

Buhari laments Nigeria’s ‘terribly slow pace’ of justice administration

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an urgent reform of the justice system saying the pace at which cases are dispensed with by courts across the country is terribly slow.
In tackling the problem, President Buhari suggested a 12-month time limit for the hearing of all criminal cases while civil cases should be dispensed with within 15 months.
The president bared his mind in a speech delivered on his behalf by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the 60th Virtual Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), with the theme, “Stepping Forward.”
In the speech, the president lamented his experiences in court in litigations he instituted over his losses in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections.
He said: “I was before the court for two and half years from 2003 to 2005 and it took me two and a half years to fight for a four-year presidential mandate .
“In 2007, I was again in court for 20 months, almost two years, as petitioner, and later as appellant in the case of Buhari vs INEC and in 2011 again as petitioner in the case of CPC Vs INEC and at the end, I lost all three cases. I wondered then, why it needed to take so long to arrive at a verdict and if I had won the case, someone who did not legitimately win the election would have been in office all that time.
“In 2019, I was no longer petitioner; I had now become a respondent in the case of Atiku and Buhari and the whole process took barely six months; just over six months. What was the difference? The law had changed since my own in 2003, 2007 and 2011. You had now introduced time limits for election petitions.
“Everything must be done within a six to eight-month period. My question then is why can’t we have a time limit for criminal cases? Why can’t we have a rule that will say a criminal trial all the way to the Supreme Court must not exceed 12 months? And why can’t we do the same for civil cases? Even if we say that civil cases must not go beyond between 12 and 15 months. I think that for me is stepping forward.”
President Buhari felicitated with the leadership of the NBA on the occasion and urged the Bar to take congnisance of its role in the administration of justice.
In his own speech, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), expressed his readiness to continue to drive the much needed legal reforms in promoting the rule of law.
Speaking through the Solicitor General of the Federation, Adedayo Akpata (SAN), the AGF threw his weight behind full autonomy for state legislature and judiciary.
The AGF revealed that at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, his office took it upon itself to adopt the use of ICT which led to the introduction of virtual court proceedings that has helped to keep the courts open and also set the pace for a post COVID-19 justice system.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad, urged lawyers to pursue things that will improve the legal system.
He saluted the courage of the NBA leadership in putting up the conference amidst COVID-19 pandemic saying this is an indication that the Bar is setting the pace in many areas of national life.
In his address at the occasion, NBA President, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), urged his colleagues to ensure unity of the Bar.

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