Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, speaking at a policy roundtable hosted by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) in Abuja, urged the Federal Government to appoint more judges in order to expedite criminal cases.
RoLAC is a European Union-funded programme operated in Nigeria by the British Council.
“The Federal High Court and the FCT have 80 judges.” This is insufficient for a country with a population of nearly 200 million people.
“I have more than 600 cases.” How many months will it take me to cover these cases if I handle 20 cases in a day and adjourn? It will take a longer period.
“It is practically and humanly difficult for me to handle more than 20 cases every day, especially when it comes to criminal situations.” Criminal trials can sometimes last a whole day before being rescheduled for the next day.
“You can see that it is not simple based on the amount of cases in relation to the number of judges in the entire Federal High Court of Nigeria with 36 states and the FCT,” she explained.
She stated that there are 250 judges in Turkey, which has a smaller population than Nigeria, and that the workload is evenly allocated.
“If we want quick justice, we need to have the corresponding number of judges.”
The same is true for the Court of Appeal, which has less than 100 judges; the Supreme Court has 17 and is continually shrinking.
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“How many cases do you anticipate them to handle in a day, given that they are human?” “It is critical that we begin campaigning for an increase in the number of judges,” Nyako added.
Also addressing, Mr Danladi Plang, RoLAC National Programme Manager, stated that the roundtable was organised to assess how RoLAC had impacted ACJA implementation since 2017.
He stated that RoLAC had assisted law enforcement authorities in implementing the ACJA, despite the fact that several aspects of the statute are deficient.
“The sections of the ACJA which RoLAC is focusing on implementation are sections 33, 34, 110, 111, and 393 to 396.”
“The FCT police divisions are now opening their doors for inspection by magistrates, and the penal services are now providing regular reports to the Attorney General of the Federation.”
“There are still holes.” Other law enforcement agencies are not welcome us for inspection; this roundtable will assist us figure out why.
“What RoLAC hopes to accomplish through this is to see an increase in the implementation of the ACJA from where we are now; if many elements of this act are executed, it would strengthen the administration of criminal justice in the country.”
“What we want to see is a decrease in the number of persons awaiting trials who are imprisoned in law enforcement institutions and correctional services, and an increase in the number of those who are convicted and not awaiting trials,” he said.
He also stated that criminals should not be imprisoned for an extended period of time without being prosecuted in court.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice Husseini-Baba Yusuf, called for a review and analysis of the ACJA to assess its triumphs and shortcomings over the last seven years.
The chief justice, represented by Justice Sylvanus Oriji, congratulated and thanked RoLAC for organising the roundtable, noting that it would assist to consolidate on the implementation of the ACJA and make stakeholders more aware.
He also advised police and other law enforcement agencies to record suspect information, including the Bank Verification Number and National Identification Number, as required by Section 15(1) of the ACJA.
According to him, this additional information will aid in the tracking of criminals, particularly for bail purposes.
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