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Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun
The National Judicial Council has urged judicial officers in the country to focus on improving their performance, warning that those with consistently low performance may be recommended for removal.
Speaking at the NJC, Third Annual National Conference on Judges Performance Evaluation, on Tuesday in Abuja, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, expressed concerns over the increase in the number of pending cases in courts and the low disposition rate of cases among judges.
Kekere-Ekun said “As of the 1st 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 is comprised of 199,747 civil cases and 43,506 criminal cases.
“At the last meeting of the committee, there was a reduction in case disposal as some judicial officers failed to deliver a single judgement in one quarter. This is simply unacceptable.
“It is imperative for all of us to take a serious note of this alarming situation and for this purpose, we must re-focus our attention towards enhancing our judicial performance.”
She encouraged judicial officers to explore the use of information technology options and case management innovations to enhance judicial performance.
In addition, she urged the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration, which she said supports quicker resolution, to help reduce the burden on judges.
“My Lords, ladies and gentlemen, we cannot wish away the growing backlog of cases or expect a different result when we continue to do things the same way.
“Unless we can justly, speedily and effectively execute our roles as judicial officers, the populace will lose their confidence in the judiciary as it is mostly believed rightly or wrongly that the judicial process is often painstakingly slow and tedious. Delayed justice is denied justice.”
She charged the judges to take control of their courtrooms, maximise the use of case management systems and foster an environment where constructive feedback is valued and acted upon.
Stressing that performance metrics should not only merely be about speed but also about the quality and impact of decisions.
The chairman of the National Judicial Council and Emir of Lafia, HRH. Justice Sidi Muhammad noted that there are two issues of great concern, the first being the number of pending cases in superior courts of record and the second, he identified as the consistently low performance of some judicial officers.
Muhammad said, “At the end of the Second Quarter 2018, when the first Conference was held, there were a total of 137,442 cases pending, however as of the 1st Quarter of 2024 we now have a total of 243, 253 cases pending. This, no doubt, is a staggering number indeed. Urgent and decisive action is required.”
Speaking further, he noted that henceforth, any judicial officer with a poor performance record will be dismissed from their position.
He emphasised that the committee will not tolerate repeated acts of non-performance due to indolence, nonchalance or impunity as may be inferred from some of the returns submitted by Judicial Officers adding that there were even submissions of false Returns by a few judicial officers.
He said, “These practices must stop. Henceforth, any Judicial Officer who is assessed as having persistently poor performance should be identified and recommended by the Committee for removal from office. In light of the above, there is no doubt that this Conference is long overdue.
“I must reiterate that the purpose of the Committee is not to witch-hunt, intimidate, oppress or create fear in the minds of Your Lordships in the course of performing your constitutional and statutory judicial duties. Rather, the Committee seeks to support our Judicial Officers as they expeditiously discharge their adjudicatory responsibilities competently, diligently and in accordance with their Oaths of Office”.
The Secretary of the National Judicial Council, Ahmed Gambo Esq, in his remarks, lauded judges all over the country for being dedicated, industrious and innovative towards the discharge of their duties.
Adding that the council recognises the need for judicial officers to upskill and improve their mastery of judge craft and as such, “The Council has been working assiduously to develop the Judges’ Performance Evaluation Software.”
Which he said has already been deployed in some states and undergoing user acceptance testing in several others.
He explained that the Software will greatly impact and improve the mode of transmission of Returns, as it will allow for online submission and analysis of Returns thereby lightening the load on our judicial officers.
