The amendment of the constitution on Administration of Justice to strengthen the judiciary for timely justice delivery has been the concern of judges, lawyers and the litigants, especially the backlog of appeals lying at the Supreme Court.
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Dilemma of stakeholders is the nature of matter or appeal that should lie or not rest in the Supreme Court due to incessant conflicting judgements chewed out by the Court of Appeal.
A ministerial nominee for Delta state Festus Keyamo (SAN), had last Friday said during his screening for confirmation canvassed for the unbundling of the Supreme Court also. According to him, it was “scandalous” to have only one apex court in Abuja, attending to the whole country.
Keyamo said he would press for constitutional changes to create six regional Supreme Courts if he is appointed the minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation.
Several renowned Law Professors and Senior Advocates of Nigeria have asked Keyamo to bury his thought for the creation of Regional Supreme Court on the grounds that not everything being successfully practiced in other climes are practicable in Nigeria.
They reminded him that his suggestion that appeals climbing to the Supreme Court be rationalized is not a new idea and that several proposals including the amendment of the 1999 Constitution have been made or are ongoing.
The creation of six Regional Supreme Court in order to unbundle the apex court would end up doubling the journey some cases may have to travel before they rest at the apex court, the lawyers said.
Below is their reaction.
CHIEF EMEKA NGIGE (SAN)
Regional Supreme Court otherwise referred to as unbundling of the court is not the solution to the congestion of cases at the apex court. The full complement of 21 justices should be put in place as a matter of urgency. The Nigerian constitution should be amended to allow for appointment of ad hoc justices comprising of retired justices of the apex court and erudite SANs to sit and clear the backlog of cases. ‘’Appeals on customary or sharia related matters should end at the Court of Appeal
PROF ERNEST OJUKWU (SAN)
The immediate past Deputy Director-General and Head of Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Augustine Nnamani Campus, Agbani Enugu. No I do not support the creation of zonal Supreme Courts. We should rather drastically reduce the number and types of cases that should be heard in the Supreme Court. Only serious constitutional causes, human rights, litigation between arms of government and between the Federating Units, and criminal matters with capital punishment should go to the Supreme Court. We can also add issues concerning the election of the President. The Supreme Court should also be given the powers to have a discretion on what case or case that can be heard by the concurrence in chambers of not less than 7 Justices. All other cases should stop at the Court of Appeal of a State that we should create. The present Court of Appeal should also only have powers to hear only such cases that the Supreme Court can determine.
PROF YEMI AKINSEYE-GEORGE (SAN)
A professor of public law and president of the Center for Socio-Legal Studies
As a matter of urgency the backlog of cases pending at the Supreme Court must be reduced. Unless this is done, the the appellate system may become a major instrument for delaying justice. And justice delayed is justice denied. We can borrow a leaf from the way elections matters are handled. A situation where commercial cases are delayed for so many years in the Supreme Court is bad for the economy. The same goes for other cases as well.
There are several ways to reduce the backlog. I do not subscribe to the idea of regional regional Supreme Courts. Rather, the Supreme Court should issue new practice directions limiting the types of cases going before the court. Many interlocutory matters should end at the Court of Appeal. There should be a panel on restatement of Settled principles of Nigerian law. Any appeal on such matters should not attract detailed judgements. Heavy costs should be awarded against parties bringing appeals against the current of settled principles. Creating regional Sup Cts is a simplistic approach. It will not solve the problem. It will lead to the problem of conflicting judgements as we presently have with the court of Appeal. It is better to make the Supreme Court stronger. Improve the working conditions of the judges and their retirement benefits. Introduce scientific case management system.
PROF ITE SAGAY (SAN)
Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption chairman. The situation is highly embarrassing and disturbing for the hardship litigants are subjected as they are made to suspend their legal rights or forfeiting same. Current system that allows automatic right of appeal in all matters to Supreme Court has to be reviewed. The interlocutory appeals has to be taken together with main matter rather than allowing appeals separately on it to the apex court. Appeal on subject matters permissible to lie at the Supreme Court has to be reviewed. We need not allow appeals on torts, matrimonial cases and commercial cases to lie at the apex court, they can terminate at the Court of Appeal. But appeals on constitutional, human rights, criminal matters involving death sentence or life imprisonment can lie at the apex court.
OLISA ABAKOGBA (SAN)
Former Nigerian Bar Association President, It’s a good call, and lies at the policy behind devolution of powers from center to the federating units so I will modify the policy behind unbundling to say what is needed is devolution of powers so the federating units will all have their appellate courts however styled. The Appeal courts are all federal courts so unbundling is not the way to go but devolution of powers.
CHIEF MIKE AHAMBA (SAN)
Former lawyer to General Muhammadu Buhari
Regional Supreme Court cannot be created without the amendment of the constitution, because a body unlawfully established can be challenged over a decision taken against him by the body. And at that time the truth shall be unveiled.
However, the people complaining are not happy with the court system in Nigeria. Unfortunately, what the 2014 National Constitutional Conference recommended was not practicable.
VALENTINE OFFIA, ESQ
Abuja based Legal Practitioner
The Supreme Court is overburdened because of our Constitution. Any legal system that cannot determine a dispute speedily is dysfunctional. No legal dispute is determined until the final court, which is the Supreme Court, pronounces on it. It is a serious problem, therefore, when the diary of the Supreme Court cannot accommodate cases for years. The problem is our Constitution has allowed access to the Supreme Court to every litigant even when the case of the litigant has no national significance. For example, why should the Supreme Court determine appeals on disputes over who is the monarch of a village in Nigeria? Such an issue is usually regulated by State law and has no trans – State significance. Yet, such disputes are allowed to be litigated upon all the way to the Supreme Court. We need to amend the Constitution to establish Supreme Courts for each State where such disputes will abate. This will quicken the delivery of justice and avoid the clog which is the consequence of having twenty judges of the Supreme Court of Nigeria determine every dispute in Nigeria – a very flawed paradigm.
MUKTAR ABANIKA ESQ
An Abuja based Legal Practitioner
Regional Supreme Court shall compound our current legal conundrum. You would find out later that the litigation journey would be lengthier and complicated. It will rather breed anarchy and confusion in the court system in Nigeria. Judiciary is still grappling with frequent conflicting judgements delivered at different jurisdictions of the Court of Appeal, hence it would amount to ‘judicial suicide’ to create regional Supreme Court. Of course, Supreme Court is overburdened because of our Constitution and the current system that allows automatic right of appeal in all matters to Supreme Court has to be reviewed.
The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as provided for under Section 233 of the Constitution should rather be altered for some appeals to terminate at the Court of Appeal.
Appeals should not be automatic but by leave of court to reduce inflow of appeals. Only cases that raise constitutional issues or point of law should be appealed to the apex court as practiced in USA, where they don’t sit on appeals more than 100 a year.
If restrictions are so applied then, what now comes to the apex court can change law. Too many appeals lead to confusion in the law and frequent revision of the law.
Culled from leadership.ng
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