Senior Lawyers Urge Acting CJN Kekere-Ekun to Restore Confidence in Nigeria's Judiciary

Following the swearing-in of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) by President Bola Tinubu on Friday, many senior lawyers have offered useful suggestions to the jurist on how to rebuild the confidence of Nigerians and foreign investors in the country’s judiciary.

Lawyers who set agenda for the new CJN include former presidents of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and Mr. Austin Alegeh (SAN); Mr. Joseph B. Daudu (SAN); Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN); former Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Olasupo Shasore (SAN); Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN); Dr. Anthony Idigbe (SAN); Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN); Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN); Abiodun Adediran Olatunji (SAN); Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Prof. Auwalu Yadudu; Managing Partner, Templars Law Firm, Oghogho Akpata and Editor, THISDAY Lawyer, Onikepo Braithwaite.

Legal Profession Should be Taken Back to Its Old Days of Glory- Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN

There needs to be a rethinking, repositioning, restoration, rebranding and rejiging of the judiciary.

We need to be sober and be reflective.

Need to consider now as a profession where we were during the times of Adetokunbo Ademola, Teslim Elias, Uwais, and take back the legal profession to its old days of glory.

Where did we misstep and how do we correct it?

They must have our own judiciary conference and tell ourselves where and how to correct it and the CJN needs to marshal it.

The metaphor marshal stands enforcement: Kekere-Ekun now she needs to the marshal Dahiru Mustapha.

When he became CJN, he set up a conference and we created a report and they have abandoned the report. They need to go back to the report.

Need for Transformational Judicial Reforms is Urgent- Olisa Agbakoba, SAN

We are witnessing yet another ritual of handing over of the judicial baton with the swearing-in of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. But it’s not about swearing in. It’s about whether we will see radical reforms finally.

The last great reform by a CJN was that of the late Justice Dahiru Musdapher. I was his consultant on Speed of Justice. Unfortunately, CJN Musdapher only had six months in office. He set up a high-powered 29-person committee that produced a transformational report.

The late CJN led a team to the then President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, to present far-reaching reforms to the constitutional structure of the judiciary. As soon as the CJN turned his back, everyone forgot about it.

The potential legacy of the new CJN is transformational and radical reform with the fundamental objective of case management driving how the courts work.

It is very important that the reform needed is least infrastructure and appointment of judges. It is about a soft institution, which is about the way the court works.

The court presently works on the 1844 model of the English court. The challenge for the new CJN is to turn this around.

Delays in Dispensation of Justice, Uncertainty of Judgments Major Problems of Judiciary- Austin Alegeh, SAN

The major problems currently confronting our judiciary are the delays in the dispensation of justice and the uncertainty of the judgments of our courts.

These problems are intertwined, and the acting CJN must introduce measures to address the situation.

The uncertainty in our judicial system must be addressed immediately. The principle of judicial precedent must be respected. A situation where cases on the same set of facts result in different outcomes is a dangerous trend. It damages the confidence of our people in the judiciary and fuels the deluge of cases filed in our courts. This is based on the belief that even though a case with similar facts has been decided one way, there is still the belief that the court can deliver a different decision. Where judicial precedent is fully implemented, litigation on cases with similar facts would not be commenced as the litigant would be aware that the court would follow its earlier decision.

The Acting CJN can introduce amendments to the disciplinary process of judicial officers that make failure to follow judicial precedent a misconduct that attracts disciplinary measures.

The other issue that the Acting CJN must address is that of the undue delay in determination of matters at all levels of our Court system. The Acting CJN must find a solution to the problem of backlog of cases at the Supreme Court and all other courts. There are certain rule changes within the purview of the powers of the CJN that can help in addressing this unfortunate situation.

Finally, the issue of the welfare of judicial officers and improvement of their work environment must be addressed urgently. The receipt increase in the salaries of judicial officers merely scratches the surface. There is a need for a massive upgrade of our courts as well as the introduction of available digital resources to aid the courts in the administration of justice.

I wish the Acting CJN and soon to be confirmed CJN, a successful and impactful tour of duty in office.

New CJN Should Push for Creation of Constitutional Courts, Optimise Grassroots Justice- Joseph B. Daudu, SAN

The new Chief Justice of Nigeria should prescribe and enforce policy in conjunction with the Heads of the Judiciary in the 36 states and the FCT for optimising grassroots justice such as Magistrates and Customary courts who serve over 80 per cent of the population but are perceived to be slow and corrupt.

Secondly, the dockets of the superior courts nationwide are saturated with political cases, and intra-party, pre-, and post-election disputes at the expense of normal civil, criminal, or commercial disputes. The incoming CJN should push for the creation of constitutional courts at three tiers, trial, appellate and final, for the determination of political and other allied matters, thereby freeing the High Courts, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Courts to deal with regular cases that affect the livelihood of over 90 per cent of the populace that is presently neglected.

CJN Should Intensify Monitoring of Judges, Address Delays, Conflicts in Judicial Decisions- Mike Ozekhome, SAN

The CJN should also set up a process where judges are monitored and their course list checked. I know that there is such a process, headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, where the number of cases that judges decide are reported to ensure judicial impartiality.

This process should be intensified to ensure that judges know that they are being watched and they should be looked over their shoulders by their peers, not by members of the executive like ICPC or EFCC or Police or DSS, because that itself means that there is no judicial independence. But when this is being done by their peers themselves, then it will mean that it is the same judiciary that is reviewing itself.

One major sub-point that Justice Kekere-Ekun must deal with has to do with conflicts in judicial decisions.

You will see the Court of Appeal at times giving two decisions in one day, but each of them saying a different thing.

I went through it in the last two years during election petitions – one judgment was given in Jos, which was exactly the opposite of another one that was given in Abuja. In such a conflicting situation, members of the public were left perplexed as to what was going on.

So, there must be a mechanism whereby Courts of Appeal judgments must go one way if certain facts go the same way, because in the past when I was a young lawyer, I used to predict how a case would go. Not anymore.

I can no longer predict or assure myself that a case will be won based on the facts and judicial precedent because you never know what will happen when the case goes to court. So that in itself is worrisome, that there is no longer certainty in the law, and that the law just simply changes like you do.

Finally, to end this problem of delays in the administration of justice, certain cases must end at certain levels. There should be some cases that must end at the Court of Appeal, which should never go to the Supreme Court.

This will ensure, of course, constitutional amendment and amendments of the various court rules, court Acts and all that. After all, in election matters, before now and before the new rules, even at the Supreme Court level, we, the lawyers, used to write 100 pages, 150 pages for our briefs. Now, it has been limited to like 40 pages, and in election petitions about 30 pages, and certain replies must be seven pages and others five pages. All these must be done within a certain given time because the constitution has prescribed the beginning and the end of election matters which the Supreme Court has interpreted that it’s like Mount Zion that cannot be moved.

So, there’s no reason why like America and some Western countries you know when a case begins and when it will end. I think with some of these few suggestions, the Judiciary will be the better for it. I wish Justice Kekere-Ekun good luck in her arduous task in these challenging times, at this moment, when the image of the judiciary is quite battered in the eyes of the members of the public. God bless Nigeria; God bless the judiciary.

Agenda for the New Chief Justice of Nigeria- Olasupo Shasore, SAN

Former Attorney General of Lagos State

This is an exciting time we have, a rarity – a thoroughly trained and purpose-prepared Chief Justice. The attainable and necessary direction of travel at this time must be to:

Accept that the judicature can and must issue “policy” (it is not the preserve of the executive alone) the national bench leadership has been to accepting of the ‘technical justice decisions’ that defeat justice (jurisdictional decisions); accept and act on the premise that ‘Justice delivery’ is a growth and economic development measurement factor in the human and investor expectation paradigm; build consensus on the compelling direction of travel – for the justice system actually getting actor institutions to act with unity of defined purpose; Recognition and acceptance of the priority to cure the lack of an efficient timely and accessible appellate justice system is an inhibitor, a deficiency and a challenge to national development; release state judicature from the shackles of central control, allowing the state judicature to develop, remunerate, perform and resource at their own pace designed to meet the local challenges peculiar to state circumstances – an overbearing national judicial control has the possibility of equalising and standardising low performance; with the strengthened lower courts to – champion a constitutional change to limit the right of appeal broadening the limit to the requirement of leave in stable, in personam predictable areas of the law and permitting a more restricted right.

CJN Should Stop Politicians’ Nominees in Judiciary, Frivolous Appeals in Supreme Court-Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN

There should be a reduction in the number of cases getting to the Supreme Court through leave granted to appeal against concurrent findings of facts and mixed law and facts. It is necessary to introduce very strict conditions for granting leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Also, the award of costs on an indemnity basis should be introduced to discourage frivolous appeals in the apex court. The number of cases conducted in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal by applicants for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) should be scaled down to reduce the number of appeals filed by applicants. If the number of cases going to the apex court is reduced, there will be less congestion in the court; there will be speedy dispensation of justice and more robust decisions will be delivered by the court. The court will also be able to function properly as a policy court.

The new Chief Justice of Nigeria should give serious consideration to a conference of stakeholders purposely to consider and reconcile the various conflicting decisions of appellate courts for the proper guidance of courts of subordinate jurisdiction and the legal profession.

Efforts should be made by the CJN to ensure the appointment of at least one member of the inner Bar and an academician directly to the apex court and the Court of Appeal. This will ensure the cross-fertilisation of ideas which will impact positively the decisions of our appellate courts

The appointment process of judges and justices should be closely monitored to ensure that the right calibre of persons is appointed. The CJN should halt moves by politicians to plant their nominees in the judiciary. The path of justice is pure and devoid of politics.

Rapid and Impactful Reforms Needed to Return Sanity to Courts- Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN

Expectations are very high of her, given her trajectory and background. With a reputation of uprightness and proper demeanor and manner of judges of old, laced with the youthfulness in her gentility and style, we hope for rapid and impactful reforms that will at once bring sanity back to the Courts and respect for the judicial system.

CJN Should Resist Pressures, Defend Independence and Impartiality of judiciary- Anthony Idigbe, SAN

Senior Partner, PUNUKA Attorneys & Solicitors

As we usher the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, into office with congratulations on the feat as the second woman to hold the highly exalted position, we recognise the opportunity for her to make a significant impact on justice delivery to our people while fiercely defending the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. She must understand that she can pass through or impact the position. I hope she chooses the latter, where she should anticipate and instigate change to transform every facet of justice delivery, from case to human resource management. She must be courageous to resist skeptics and defend against internal and external pressures.

Our new CJN has a golden opportunity to enhance public trust in the judicial system as a check against conduct outside the values and spirit of our constitution, including the triumph of the rule of law, preservation of our federal arrangement, and protection of minorities and fundamental freedoms. If she pursues the above agenda, she will imprint her legacy indelibly on the firmaments of our judicial history.

Cutting Technology Needed to Enforce Supreme Court’s Rules 2024- Joseph Nwobike, SAN

The new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kekere Ekun, is a first-class judicial officer who has passed through all the strata of the Judiciary to the highest office. She will bring her wealth of experience to bear in the discharge of her duties and pursuit of the desired reforms in the sector.

She should also take advantage of the full complement of the benches of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in implementing strategies that will quicken the determination of cases at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. I will urge all the stakeholders in the justice system to cooperate with her for the betterment of the most important arm of the Government of Nigeria.

The CJN should deploy the use of cutting technology in enforcing the Supreme Court Rules 2024 and the prompt fair dispensation of justice to all.

Transparency Needed in Judges’ Appointment, Bad Eggs Should Not Be Treated with Levity- Prof. Auwalu Yadudu Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi

As the overall leader of the judiciary, she needs to bring more transparency in the appointment process as chair of the National Judicial Council (NJC), a body that appears, in public perception, to reserve appointments exclusively to cronies and children of judicial and political heavyweights

She should lead in bringing fresh faces from distinguished members of the Bar, including the academia, to vacant positions particularly at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, as the NJC appointment rules envisage.

She should ensure that bad eggs in the judiciary are not treated with levity or a mere backslap when allegations of misconduct are brought against them.

Radical and Surgical Reforms Needed in National Judicial Council- Abiodun Adediran Olatunji, SAN

First, let me extend my heartfelt congratulations to our new Chief Justice of Nigeria, my Lord, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on her swearing-in as the 23rd CJN and as the second female Justice of the Supreme Court to hold this esteemed position. I am confident that my Lord will pursue radical reforms in the judiciary during her tenure as CJN.

I have had the privilege and honour of appearing before her at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. She is a courageous, fearless, principled, incorruptible, and very fair judge.

In terms of expectations, I look forward to her carrying out radical and surgical reforms of the National Judicial Council (NJC), of which, under her position as CJN, she is the head. I anticipate significant reforms within that body, particularly in the roles it plays and the processes it employs in the recommendation and appointment of judges, the discipline of erring and corrupt judicial officials, and the eradication of corruption within the judiciary.

A particular area of concern is the registry of the Supreme Court, where officials have become so entrenched in corrupt practices that they practically hold themselves out as capable of doing anything. I would like my Lord, the CJN, to address this issue rigorously.

Furthermore, I hope that she will investigate the root causes of why cases linger for decades at the Supreme Court and address these issues with a permanent solution.

Another area that deserves her attention is the Privileges Committee. The process of appointing Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) should be made more transparent and credible. Additionally, the issue of forum shopping by litigants, which has resulted in conflicting decisions on the same matter by courts of coordinate jurisdiction, must be addressed.

I believe that by the time my Lord, the CJN, addresses all these issues, she will have etched her name in history as a reformist leader of our time.

Integrity, and Impartiality of Justice Delivery System Necessary for Foreign Investments- Oghogho Akpata Managing Partner, Templars Law Firm

After all is said and done, one of the most important criteria for judging the attractiveness of a country as a destination for foreign investment is the justice delivery system. Its integrity, its impartiality, its predictability, its consistency, and its timeliness. We have seen some instances in the recent past where credible questions have been raised about whether our judicial system ticks all these boxes. It is often such doubts that drive foreign clients who do business in or with Nigeria to prefer to take their disputes to arbitration or litigation outside of Nigeria.

I would strongly urge the new Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria to implement measures to enhance judicial efficiency and speed up the adjudication process, especially in commercial matters; invest in the continuous re-training of judges and court staff; and ensure that when judges go astray, they are adequately disciplined. Above all, we must prioritise merit in the appointment of judges and ensure that our courts are staffed by commercially-minded judges. We can borrow a leaf from what obtains in places like England where the commercial courts are manned by seasoned commercial law practitioners, and this is reflected in the quality of their judgments. Implementing these reforms would definitely help in restoring public confidence in the Nigerian judiciary.

CJN Should Rebuild People’s Confidence in Judiciary- Onikepo Braithwaite

Editor, THISDAY Lawyer

History has once again been made with the appointment of the second female Chief Justice of Nigeria, 66-year-old Honourable Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, CFR, the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (pending her confirmation by the Senate as the substantive CJN). Her appointment couldn’t have come at a better time; in the company of Baroness Sue Carr, who was appointed as the First Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, and The Honourable Mandisa Maya, who is set to resume as the first female Chief Justice of South Africa in the next few days.

The Acting Chief Justice’s mandate is to undertake a holistic reform of the Judiciary, which appears to be struggling on various levels. As a matter of urgency, she must rebuild the perception of the people and their confidence in our courts, by instilling discipline into the Judiciary. The mounting allegations of corruption, as well as the menace of conflicting judgments and abuse of court process, must be faced head-on, and erring judicial officers in this regard must not be spared by the NJC, which Her Lordship now chairs. The backlog of cases that exist, not just in the Supreme Court, but in most of our courts has to be tackled effectively, as one of the major complaints of Nigerians is that pace of justice is too slow. Even with the Supreme Court itself, a reorganisation of its Registry for maximum efficiency and better performance, is required.

Drawing from Justice Kekere-Ekun’s reputation as being hardworking, thorough, and a stickler for high standards, we do not doubt that she already has a vision and agenda for the Judiciary. Ensuring that the brightest and the best are recruited into the Judiciary, is paramount. Her Lordship must consider the Communiqué of the 2024 Justice Sector Summit which focused on Judicial Appointments/Selection; accelerating the speed of justice delivery in Nigeria; accountability and other areas like the deplorable condition of many state judiciaries due to under-funding. The Acting CJN must pursue financial autonomy for the Judiciary, not just so that the courts can function better, but to foster better independence of the Judiciary.

Spearheading a reform or the rebirth of the Judiciary will not be easy, and it will certainly be met with opposition by enemies of progress, but her Lordship must stand courageous and not be deterred. Better transparency in leadership, and the activities and processes of the Judiciary, is required. She must also embrace and encourage the use of technology, to make our courts run better. The NJC and other Judicial bodies must be made to be up and doing.

Her Lordship must take up the case of the long-suffering, much-ignored Magistracy. The issue of their poor remuneration, welfare, and conditions of service, must be addressed. Having started her career on the Bench as a Magistrate, the Acting CJN will be expected to be sympathetic to their plight.

We expect the Acting CJN’s appointment to be confirmed by the Senate, as soon as possible. Under Section 231(5) of the Constitution, Her Lordship’s confirmation must be done within three months from the date of her appointment last Friday, August 23rd, 2024. Nigerians are optimistic that Justice Kekere-Ekun will most certainly leave the Judiciary better than she found it.

Ejiofor Alike and Wale Igbintade

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