President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday called for urgent judicial reforms in the country to address the slow pace of trials in the courts.
The president made the call at the opening session of the virtual 2020 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference themed “Step Forward” which coincides with the its 60th anniversary.
The president, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the call has become necessary given the current and pre-existing challenges confronting the system.
“Why can’t we have time limits for all cases? Why can’t we put in place the rules that will say that a criminal trial all the way up to the Supreme Court must end in 12 months, and that a civil trial must not exceed 12-15 months? I think that, for me, will be stepping forward. Step forward means taking responsibility. It may also mean making progress, boldly taking on the challenges of the future,” he said.
Going personal on the issue of delay in trials, the president referred to his experience at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunals in 2003, 2007 and 2011.
He said until recently, court trials had been “terribly slow” and capable of frustrating genuine efforts aimed at promoting general progress of the society.
“I am not a lawyer but I have been both a casualty and a beneficiary of the judicial process. I was before the courts for two and a half years- 27 months from 2003 in the now famous case of Buhari and Obasanjo. It took me two and a half years to fight for a four-year Presidential mandate.
“In 2007, I was again in court for 20 months, almost two years, also as petitioner and later then appellant in the case of Buhari and INEC. And in 2011, again as petitioner in the case of CPC and INEC. I spent another 8 months in court. At the end, I lost all three cases. I wondered then why it needed to take so long to arrive at a verdict.
“In 2019, my status improved, I was now no longer petitioner, I became first respondent in the case of Atiku and Buhari and the whole process took barely 6 months,” he said.
The president said another area that requires reform is the issue if multiple and sometimes conflicting orders of courts.
“Recently, my party, the APC, had an internal crisis. In the six-week period before I chaired the meeting of the party to resolve the issues, there were at least 10 different conflicting rulings of the courts across the country.
“Again I am not a lawyer, but surely these sort of multiple and conflicting rulings of courts sometimes ex parte, really make a mockery of the judicial process.
“Third issue is the seeming bias towards technicality over the clear common sense justice of cases. If justice is to be seen to be done, then the outcomes of cases must make sense to the average person and not just to the refined minds of learned persons alone. Justice must make sense to lawyers and non-lawyers alike,” he said.
The president also spoke on the appointment of judges, saying stakeholders must continuously improve on the selection processes for appointment of the men and women who serve as judges.
“First we must cast our nets wider in search of judges, especially at the appellate level. Second we must put in place primarily merit-based selection processes including mandatory tests and interviews for all applicants for judgeships.
“While our Constitution urges Federal character for balance, this is not an excuse for mediocrity. If a particular zone is to produce a judge why can’t we find the best talents in that zone. Our country has excellent men and women everywhere.
“Reform is urgent because the fabric of our society is stitched together by our system of justice and law enforcement. We cannot afford to have the stitches come undone,” he said.
While urging stakeholders in the sector to further leverage technology to enhance the speed of court processes, the president said “digitization of court processes, records and services is very much the new frontier of justice delivery and will dramatically enhance access to justice and affect trial timelines.”
Speaking on the present administration’s efforts to address security concerns, the president said the federal government acknowledges the apprehensions of the people and would address them.
“The fight against insecurity and to establish law and order, requires the full cooperation of all especially the various structures for law enforcement and administration of justice at all levels.
“If like some of us, you listen to the radio, you will often hear ordinary people asking questions about why criminals have not been sent to jail. So for example, they would ask why a suspected murderer has not being prosecuted. Of course the question many will ask is, ‘so, what is Buhari doing about that?,” he said.
