President Muhammadu Buhari has decried the slow pace of justice administration in Nigeria, proposing that criminal cases from the high court to the Supreme Court should be concluded within 12 months.
For civil cases, the President said they should not last longer than 15 months.
President Buhari made the proposal on Wednesday in a speech to declare open the Annual General Conference (AGC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The 60th AGC, with the theme, ‘Stepping Forward,’ was NBA’s first virtual gathering.
Buhari, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), frowned at multiple and conflicting court orders, judicial technicality rather than “clear common sense” and what he described as the opaque process of appointing judges.
He recalled how it took so long for the courts to decide and eventually dismiss the election petitions he filed to challenge his losses in 2003, 2007, and 2011 presidential elections, adding that the Nigerian justice system should be reformed urgently.
He said: “In the end, I lost all three cases. I wondered then, why it needed to take so long to arrive at a verdict and if I had won the case, someone who did not legitimately win the election would have been in office all that time.
“In 2019, I was no longer petitioner; I had now become a respondent in the case of Atiku vs Buhari and the whole process took barely six months – just over six months.
“What was the difference? The law had changed since my own in 2003, 2007 and 2011. You had now introduced time limits for election petitions. Everything must be done within a six to eight-month period.
“My question then is why can’t we have a time limit for criminal cases? Why can’t we have a rule that will say a criminal trial all the way to the Supreme Court must not exceed 12 months?
“And why can’t we do the same for civil cases? Even if we say that civil cases must not go beyond between 12 and 15 months. I think that for me will be stepping forward.”
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Speaking on the issue of technicality, Buhari said: “Justice must make sense to lawyers and non-lawyers alike; as a matter of fact, more to non-lawyers because we are in the majority.
“Triumph of technicalities opens a door for all sorts of speculations about the true motives of the court and can only detract slowly but surely from the authority of our courts.
“My fourth issue is on the appointment of judges. I believe that you must continuously improve on the selection processes for the appointment of the men and women who will serve as judges. We must cast our nets wider in search of judges, especially at the appellate level. We must put in place primarily merit-based selection processes, including mandatory tests and interviews for all applicants for judgeship.
“While our constitution urges federal character for ballots in appointments generally, this is not an excuse for mediocrity.”
In his speech, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, challenged lawyers to strive to improve the legal system so that they can be leading lights of the nation.
Muhammad stated that the virtual conference underscores the fact that the bar is setting the pace in many areas of national life.
“Holding this virtual conference in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic exemplifies the doggedness of the bar under the able leadership of Paul Usoro SAN,” he added.
On his part, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), said Buhari had improved Nigeria’s legal system through the issuance of executive orders for better implementation of the laws.
Malami, who was represented by the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN), said his ministry had so far aided the recovery of $301 million looted funds, which has been “ploughed into the economy.”
In his address, Paul Usoro, the outgoing NBA president, commended members for remaining united and professional.
“Those who are bent on dividing the bar would not relent. But we must always remember that we are one united Nigerian Bar Association. We must continue to ensure that we remain a united bar association; we must not be divided along ethnic, religious and other lines. It must always be ‘One is for all, and all is for all,” he stated.
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