The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has called on Judges to address the significant number of pending cases which has unfortunately become a norm in the courts across the country.
She made this call on Tuesday in Abuja during the 3rd Annual National Judicial Council (NJC) Conference on Judges Performance Evaluation.
She lamented the increasing number of cases pending in superior courts across the country which she linked to the poor performance of some judges.
She warned that the bench would not hesitate to show under-performing judges the way out.
She said: “We must be deeply concerned by the increase in the number of pending cases and low disposition rates. As of the first quarter of 2024, we had a total of 243,253 cases pending in our superior courts of record, exclusive of the Supreme Court. This total comprises 199,747 civil cases and 43,506 criminal cases.
“Therefore, it is imperative for all of us to take a serious note of this alarming situation and refocus our attention towards enhancing our judicial performance.”
According to her, the backlog of cases cannot just be wished away, justices and judges must do something if they wish to see results.
Kekere-Ekun urged the justices and judges to justly, speedily and effectively execute their roles as judicial officers, so that the populace would not lose confidence in the judiciary.
The CJN encouraged the judges to leverage on information technology options and case management innovations to enhance their performance.
She said, “The introduction of digital case management systems, the Judicial Performance Evaluation Software (JPES), virtual courtrooms, e-filing systems, digital databases, web seminars, online meetings and advanced research engines provide a myriad of tools for efficiency in case disposition.”
While she commended the improvement in the welfare package and salaries of the judicial officers, she said the increased allowances would impact the professionalism, and quality of justice in the country.
