The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola lamented on Monday in Abuja that Nigerians, especially the political class are the most litigious people on earth putting unprecedented pressure on the judiciary.
Justice Ariwoola canvassed the need for the Nigerian public to be told to do less litigation and embrace more of alternative dispute resolution to free the courts of unnecessary over-stretching of human and material resources.
Speaking against the incessant rush to court after every little disagreement, the CJN explained that Nigeria has various alternative dispute resolution mechanisms across the country that can conveniently be leveraged, with a view to freeing the courts of the incessant case overload.
“In every little disagreement, we rush to court; and in every lost case, we rush to appeal even up to the Supreme Court, no matter how little the issue might be. That has obviously accounted for the several appeals pending in Supreme Court.
“Though we receive scathing criticisms from members of the public over our over-blotted docket, we are neither in any position to regulate case inflow to the court nor have the supernatural powers to attend to all in one fell swoop.”
Justice Ariwoola spoke at the Supreme Court at a special court session to mark the 2022/2023 legal year of the Apex Court and the inauguration of the 62 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN.
To buttress his claim, Justice Ariwoola explained that during the 2021/2022 legal year alone, the Supreme Court entertained a total number of 1,764 cases, comprising of motions and appeals.
Out of the figure, he said justices of the court heard 816 civil, 370 criminal and 16 political matters, making a total of 1,202 motions.
Similarly, he said, the court considered a total number of 562 appeals, comprising 341 civil, 186 criminal, and 35 political. A total number of 154 judgments were delivered in the year.
“[Of] our pending (backlog) civil appeals are 4,741 while the number of pending (backlog) criminal appeals is 1,392.
“On the other hand, we have 751 moribund appeals for disposal. That brings the total number of pending (backlog) appeals in this Honourable Court to 6,884.
“Out of the 4,741 appeals in the court’s docket, 1,495 have briefs filed and exchanged and are ready for hearing; whereas, the remaining 3,246 appeals are having about 10,000 motions, with some contentious and others innocuous in nature.
“As for the pending 1,392 criminal appeals, 461 already had briefs filed and exchanged and are ready for hearing. The remaining 931 appeals have about 2,000 different motions for hearing to determine their eligibility for hearing.
“However, the identified 751 moribund appeals are to be disposed of for non-compliance with the Supreme Court Rules, i.e. Order 8 Rule 8,” he said.
He further stated: “Available facts on judicial activities in various jurisdictions across the globe still emphatically confirmed that the Supreme Court of Nigeria remains the busiest and most hardworking Supreme Court in the world.
“It is on record that we work from Monday to Friday every week. We conduct sittings on daily basis. It is only on Wednesdays we do chamber sitting to consider non-contentious matters. On Fridays, we deliver judgements and rulings.”
He noted that there are debates in the public space as to whether the Nigerian judiciary is independent or not.
“In the course of these various engagements, discussants always assess the situation from different unrelated perspectives; and that has largely accounted for the often conflicting solutions proffered at the end of each dialogue session.
“The Nigerian Judiciary, to a very large extent, is independent in conducting its affairs and taking decisions on matters before it without any extraneous influence,” he stated.
According to him: “At the Supreme Court, without mincing words, we are completely independent in the way and manner we conduct our affairs, especially in our judgements.
“We don’t pander to the whims and caprices of anybody. If there is anybody to be feared, I must say with full confidence, that it is only the Almighty God. We will never be subservient to anyone, no matter his position or influence in the society.
“Nevertheless, I will make it clear to whoever that cares to listen that when the Nigerian Judiciary is assessed from the financial aspect, we are yet to be free or truly independent.
“The annual budget of the Judiciary is still a far cry from what it ought to be. The figure is either stagnated for a long period of time or it goes on a progressive decline when placed side-by-side with the current realities in the market.
“Prices of goods and services are not getting less or friendly to buyers; while at the same time, our purchasing power is abysmally low and weak enough to transmit on the same wavelength with the market forces.
The only thing I can do at this juncture is to plead with the other arms of government and allied agencies to clear all the impediments so we can enjoy our independence holistically.
