Senior Advocate of Nigeria Monday Onyekachi Ubani has called for urgent judicial reforms to address the “growing menace of conflicting judgments” in Nigeria’s legal system, warning that the phenomenon has projected the judiciary as “vulnerable to manipulation and forum shopping” and that unless accountability, structural reforms, and procedural amendments are implemented before the 2027 general elections, public confidence in the courts as impartial arbiters of justice will be irreparably damaged.
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Speaking as a panellist at the Biennial Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association Anaocha Branch in Anambra State, where he joined distinguished professors of law, justices, Senior Advocates, and legal scholars to interrogate the crisis, Ubani stated that “a judiciary that speaks with contradictory voices weakens the rule of law, undermines democratic stability, and erodes citizens’ faith in the courts.”
The presentation, which drew unanimous agreement from the gathering on the need for reforms, comes at a moment when the Supreme Court itself has, in its recent PDP convention judgment, “strongly deprecated such unholy practices rearing their ugly heads in our jurisprudence,” with Justice Nwosu-Iheme condemning the “unethical conduct of some judges who make their courts available for forum shopping, not due to poor knowledge of the law, but deliberate mischief.”
Ubani grounded his analysis in two specific examples that illustrate the scale and persistence of the problem.
The first was the celebrated case involving the late Justice Ikpeme in the 1990s, which Ubani described as “one of the earliest and most notorious examples of judicial inconsistency that embarrassed the judiciary.” In that case, Justice Ikpeme’s judicial order was immediately countered by subsequent ex parte orders issued by courts of coordinate jurisdiction in different states, procured by the state governors of those jurisdictions.
“Her dangerous and repugnant judicial order was immediately countered by subsequent ex parte orders issued by courts of coordinate jurisdiction in the different states of Nigeria. Those orders were procured by the then state governors of those states where those contradictory orders were given,” Ubani stated, noting that the incident “exposed the dangerous abuse of interim judicial processes.”
The second example was the recent wave of conflicting rulings arising from the PDP crisis, particularly those that culminated in the nullification of the party’s Ibadan convention. Different courts issued divergent orders on the same political dispute, with the PDP itself obtaining an order from a court of coordinate jurisdiction to override a subsisting Federal High Court order restraining its convention.
“Such judicial contradictions not only destabilise political institutions but also project the judiciary as vulnerable to manipulation and forum shopping,” Ubani stated.
Ubani identified three interrelated practices that have corroded judicial integrity.
Conflicting Judgments: Courts of coordinate jurisdiction issuing inconsistent decisions on the same subject matter, creating uncertainty and confusion. “This disturbing phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent in our jurisprudence, particularly in politically sensitive matters and electoral disputes,” Ubani stated.
Forum Shopping: Litigants deliberately seeking out courts perceived to be sympathetic to their interests, aided by lawyers who exploit procedural loopholes and jurisdictional overlaps. “The result is a multiplicity of suits and conflicting decisions that ridicule the administration of justice,” Ubani observed.
Abuse Of Ex Parte Orders: Interim orders intended to be exceptional remedies granted only in cases of extreme urgency have “become regular weapons in political and commercial disputes,” with courts “frequently issuing far-reaching ex parte orders affecting substantive rights without hearing the other side.”
“This dangerous trend has contributed immensely to conflicting judgments and judicial embarrassment,” Ubani warned.
Ubani framed the crisis in existential terms for the judiciary.
“Once the public begins to perceive judicial outcomes as inconsistent, politically influenced, or purchasable, confidence in the judiciary diminishes,” he stated.
“The judiciary, traditionally regarded as the last hope of the common man, risks losing its moral authority and institutional legitimacy,” the Senior Advocate warned.
The Law Week panellists unanimously agreed on four areas of reform.
Accountability Through Disciplinary Action: Judges who recklessly issue conflicting orders in disregard of judicial precedent and comity should face prompt investigation and sanctions by the National Judicial Council. Lawyers who encourage forum shopping, multiplicity of actions, and abuse of court process must be disciplined by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee. “Without accountability, the abuse will continue unchecked,” Ubani stated.
Structural Reforms And Technology: Improved judicial coordination and technology-driven case management systems capable of detecting related suits filed in different jurisdictions are necessary. “This will help prevent multiple courts from entertaining the same disputes simultaneously,” Ubani stated. A centralised digital system that flags when a matter substantially similar to an existing suit is filed in another court would address the information gap that currently allows forum shopping to thrive.
Procedural And Substantive Law Amendments: The issuance of ex parte orders should be more strictly regulated, particularly in political matters and electoral disputes, with clear limitations imposed on their duration and scope. Courts of coordinate jurisdiction must be “statutorily restrained from issuing orders capable of undermining existing decisions of another court of equal status,” Ubani proposed.
Restoring Consistency And Coherence: “The judiciary must speak with one coherent voice if democracy and the rule of law are to thrive,” Ubani stated, arguing that reforms must focus on restoring integrity, consistency, and public confidence in the administration of justice.
Ubani linked the reform imperative directly to the approaching 2027 general elections, which will generate the kind of politically charged litigation that has historically produced the worst examples of conflicting judgments and forum shopping.
“As the 2027 general election draws near, the time to act is now before it becomes too late,” Ubani warned.
The warning is prescient. The current political season has already produced multiple examples of the practices Ubani condemned: the PDP’s forum shopping that the Supreme Court nullified, competing ADC judgments from different courts, and politically sensitive suits filed across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.
If the reforms Ubani proposes are not implemented before the 2027 electoral litigation cycle begins in earnest, the judiciary will face the same challenges it has faced in every previous election cycle, with the same damage to public confidence and institutional credibility.
“The future of our legal system depends not merely on the existence of courts, but on the credibility, consistency, and integrity of the justice they dispense,” Ubani stated.
“Nigeria cannot afford a judicial system where conflicting judgments become normalised,” the Senior Advocate concluded.
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