*Says Appointment Of Judges To Election Petition Tribunals To Cause Delays In Regular Trials
*Recommends Appointment Of Retired Judicial Officers And Senior Members Of The Bar To Tribunals
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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, J.S. Okutepa SAN has expressed concerns about the potential delays which litigants will have to face across Nigerian courts in the aftermath of the 2023 General elections.
He expressed his concern that in the aftermath of the elections, the entire judicial system will be focused on adjudicating electoral issues to the abandonment of other non-election matters.
According to Okutepa in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, the appointment of 257 Judges from various courts to sit on petition cases means already pending cases before their respective courts will be abandoned until the end of the petitions to the detriment of the ordinary Nigerian.
He wrote, “After the general elections in February 2023 in Nigeria, Nigerian lawyers and Nigerian litigating public whose cases in courts across Nigeria are not election related cases are likely to suffer delayed justice and hearing of their causes and matters in Nigerian Courts.
According to the Learned, “This is because a total of two hundred and fifty- seven (257) judges of our various courts, including Federal High Court, High Courts of the various states and FCT, National Industrial Court of Nigeria and other courts “have been carefully” selected to sit on the election petitions cases that may be filed after the February 2023 general elections in Nigeria.”
“These judges do not include judicial officers that will be constituted to hear Presidential election petitions. No doubt many will be filed. Apart from these judges who have been ” carefully selected” and appointed for these national assignments, personals of various degrees are also to be appointed as ad hoc staff to man the registries of the various election petition tribunals across Nigeria” He continued.
Okutepa also called for a rethinking of the entire process in order to ensure non-election matters do not suffer unnecessary delays due to election matters. He called on the National Assembly to urgently intervene to mitigate the imminent hardship on the masses.
“There is an urgent need for the leadership of the judiciary and the National Assembly to do something about delay justice occasioned by election petition cases in Nigeria. Today the only cases that travel through the ladders of our courts with speed of lightning are election related cases.
In the speed of this lightning other equally important causes and matters are usually adjourned or unattended to for months for no faults of the litigants, the courts and the lawyers involved. It appears that the political class does not have the interest of Nigerians at heart when they make laws concerning delayed justice in Nigeria.”
He also recommended the appointment of retired Judicial officers and Senior members of the Bar to sit on election cases while Judges continue to focus on matters already before their courts.
“Had they have the interest of the litigating masses at heart they ought to enact laws that will enhance the quick dispensation of justice in our land. For instance is it not high time we make use of our retired judicial officers and very many senior members of the Bar for our various election petition cases and pre- election matters and then leave serving judicial officers to face the normal jobs of adjudication.”
He equally suggested the improvement of infrastructure across courts in Nigeria and worried that investors are losing confidence in Nigeria due to the delays in getting justice in the country.
“Why is the National Assembly and Executive Arms of Government and the judicial leadership not thinking of increasing the number of our judges and build good infrastructural facilities for quick dispensation of justice in Nigeria. Are the leadership of the three arms of Government really worried about delayed justice in Nigeria.
To get justice in Nigerian Courts today is like a camel going through the eyes of the needle due to combinations of factors that are majorly man made. Many cases suffered due to the pursuit of shadow justice instead of substantial justice.
So many factors have conspired to render our justice system the most expensive commodity in the world. Clearly unless something is urgently done, Nigerians will soon loss total confidence in going to courts to litigate their grievances. The investing public are afraid of investments due to slow justice in Nigeria. We need to do something urgently about delayed justice in Nigerian courts.”
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