In the face of post-election litigation, senior lawyers have expressed concern that the maximum number of Supreme Court judges has been exhausted from 21, and said the appointment of Supreme Court judges should be expedited.
After the retirement of Justice Abdu Aboki on August 5, 2022, the number of judges on the bench of the Supreme Court was reduced to an inadequate 13.
This has led to several calls from lawyers and the Chief Justice himself for the appointment of qualified judges to fill the vacancies. However, nothing noticeable has changed in this regard.
In the past few months alone, following the events of the election season, the courts were flooded with a large number of cases that fell into lesser hands.
Expressing concern over the issue, the lawyers said that beyond the current problem, the decline poses a threat to the timely and effective administration of justice in post-2023 election cases.
Speaking to our correspondent on the matter, a lawyer, Kunle Adegoke SAN, said the appointment of Supreme Court judges should be expedited.
He said: “There are many senior high court judges who are qualified to be promoted to the Supreme Court. But unfortunately the process has been so slow that it has been unfinished for a long time.
“Many have been on the waiting list for a long time. Therefore, if these high court judges are promoted, the pressure will be reduced and the number of hands available to manage the judicial process of the Supreme Court will increase.
“He also stated that “some prominent legislators have applied to join the appellate court and the supreme court. They are patriots who are looking for opportunities to serve the nation more. When these people come up to the tribunal, it will reduce the pressure on their Lordships and there will be enough room for them to fully consider the cases before them.”
Next, the legal silk pointed out that in addition to the appointment of new judges of the Supreme Court, in order to lighten the workload, the nature of the cases that can land in the Supreme Court should be more strictly limited.
He says that only heavy constitutional issues, major contract cases and serious criminal cases should be admitted to the Supreme Court.
“Apart from that, there is a need for honesty that will reduce the number of cases that go to the supreme court. The situation where they are fighting for the annual rent of a room in Oshogbo that does not cost up to five thousand naira should not reach the Supreme Court.
“In most cases where people fight from the Supreme Court to the Supreme Court, some such cases should not reach the appellate court.
“So we need to make a lot of reforms to catch up with the appeals process, to make sure that they don’t overwhelm the Supreme Court and even the Court of Appeal itself.”
Likewise, SAN Boma Alabi explained that the nomination process must proceed quickly.
“The process can be prioritized and fast-tracked to fill vacancies on time. There is no shortage of talent. We have competent and experienced lawyers and very bright minds on the bench. It’s just speeding up the process,” he thought.
