New Telegraph

Buhari laments slow pace of justice system, seeks reforms

…proposes 12-month limit for criminal, civil cases

CJN: We won’t tolerate court processes’ abuse

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 specifically made reference to the slow pace of trials in courts, multiple and conflicting orders of court, seeming bias towards technicalities, appointment of judges, security, law and order, as well as rape and sexual offences. Buhari bared his mind in a speech delivered on his behalf by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) 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 am not a lawyer, but I have been both a casualty and a beneficiary of the judicial process. I was before the court for two and a 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 cognisance of its role in the administration of justice. The president, while expressing concerns over the issue of conflicting orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction, also sought for a reform of the process of judges’ appointment.

He recommended that aspiring judges should undergo tests. His words: “The second issue for me is the multiple and sometimes conflicting orders of courts. Recently, my party, the APC, had an internal crisis. In the sixweek period before I chaired the meeting of the party to resolve the issues, there were at least 10 different conflicting rulings of the courts across the country.

“Again, I am not a lawyer, but surely these sort of multiple and conflicting rulings of courts sometimes ex-parte, really make a mockery of the judicial process. “Third issue is the seeming bias towards technicality over the clear common sense justice of cases. If justice is to be seen to be done, then the outcomes of cases must make sense to the average person and not just to the refined minds of learned persons alone. Justice must make sense to lawyers and non-lawyers alike. “My fourth issue is on the appointment of judges.

I believe that we must continuously improve on the selection processes for appointment of the men and women who serve as judges. “First we must cast our nets wider in search of judges, especially at the appellate level. Second, we must put in place primarily meritbased selection processes, including mandatory tests and interviews for all applicants for judgeships. While our Constitution urges federal character for balance, this is not an excuse for mediocrity. If a particular zone is to produce a judge, why can’t we find the best talents in that zone? Our country has excellent men and women everywhere.”

While urging stakeholders in the justice sector to further leverage technology to enhance the speed of court processes, the president said: “Digitization of court processes, records and services is very much the new frontier of justice delivery and will dramatically enhance access to justice and affect trial timelines.” Speaking on his administration’s efforts at addressing security concerns, Presi-dent Buhari, while restating his readiness to tackle the problem, said his government was not unmindful of citizens’ apprehensions. He, however, noted that “the fight against insecurity and establishment of law and order requires the full cooperation of all, especially the various structures for law enforcement and administration of justice at all levels.

“If like some of us, you listen to the radio, you will often hear ordinary people asking questions about why criminals have not been sent to jail. So, for example, they would ask why a suspected murderer has not been prosecuted. Of course, the question many will ask is, ‘so, what is Buhari doing about that?” In his speech, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, 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, restated the commitment of the judiciary to adapt to changes within and around its environment, citing the adoption of virtual court proceedings as an example. He said the judiciary under his watch will not condone practices that have, over the years, negatively impacted the image of the justice sector.

The CJN stated that abuse of court processes, among others, would no longer be tolerated. 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.

“Those who are bent on dividing the Bar would not relent. But, we must always remember that we are one united NBA. We must continue to ensure that we remain a united Bar Association. We must not be divided along ethnic, religious and other lines. It must always be ‘One is for all, and all is for all’,” he said. The 60th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held virtually both from Lagos and Abuja.

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