CJN Issues Strong Warning to Judges About Delays in Case Resolution

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has cautioned judges that public trust in the judiciary could erode if case resolutions continue to be delayed. She delivered this message in Abuja during the third annual conference on judges’ performance evaluation hosted by the National Judicial Council (NJC). countinue

Kekere-Ekun expressed her alarm regarding the growing backlog of cases in the courts and the slow rate at which judges are resolving them. She highlighted that, as of the first quarter of 2024, there were 243,253 cases pending in superior courts, excluding the Supreme Court.

This figure includes 199,747 civil cases and 43,506 criminal cases.During the committee’s last meeting, it was noted that some judges had not issued any judgments in an entire quarter, leading to a decline in case resolution.

Kekere-Ekun called this situation “unacceptable” and emphasized the need for everyone involved to take this issue seriously and focus on improving judicial efficiency.She urged judicial officers to leverage technology and innovative case management practices to boost their performance.

Additionally, she recommended adopting alternative dispute resolution methods like mediation and arbitration to expedite case handling and reduce the burden on judges.