Daud Olatunji
The immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, has disclosed that the Supreme Court handled a total of 1,124 cases during the 2023/2024 legal year.
Ariwoola revealed these figures during a valedictory session held in his honour in Abuja on Thursday.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that a breakdown of the cases shows that the apex court managed 435 civil cases, 269 civil motions, 219 criminal cases, and 102 criminal motions within the period.
In addition, 89 political appeals and 10 originating summonses were recorded during a non-election year.
During his address, Ariwoola highlighted the productivity of the court, noting that 248 judgments and rulings were delivered within the same timeframe.
According to him, these included 92 judgments in civil and originating summons cases, 81 judgments in criminal appeals, and 74 judgments in political appeals.
Reflecting on the challenges facing the judiciary, Ariwoola pointed to the pressing issue of the backlog of cases at the Supreme Court, emphasizing the need for reforms to ensure timely justice.
He argued that many cases before the Supreme Court could have been resolved at the appellate level, thereby reducing the burden on the highest court in the land.
“The sheer volume of pending cases is a significant impediment to timely justice,” Ariwoola stated, expressing his conviction that the right to a fair hearing, as enshrined in the Constitution, could only be meaningful if there were enough judges and justices to hear cases promptly.
He lamented the long wait times that litigants endure, stressing that justice delayed is justice denied.
Ariwoola further recounted the sobering experiences during his tenure when appeals were called, only to learn that the appellant or respondent had died before the case could be heard.
This, he noted, underscored the urgency of addressing delays in the judicial process.
In response to these challenges, Ariwoola said he spearheaded significant reforms aimed at modernizing the court’s procedures.
He announced the approval of the Supreme Court Rules 2024, designed to align with contemporary realities and address long-standing procedural issues.
He lamented that the previous rules, established in 1985, were outdated, particularly in light of advances in information technology and electronic transactions.
“At the time the Supreme Court Rules 1985 were made, things that are now ubiquitous, like information technology, electronic transactions, and global telecommunication, were either not in existence or in their formative stages,” Ariwoola remarked.
He explained that the outdated rules were inadequate for today’s challenges, prompting the formation of a rules committee to comprehensively review and update the court’s procedural framework.
The ex-CJN concluded by highlighting the importance of regularly updating court rules to reflect the evolving needs of legal practitioners and the judiciary, ensuring that justice is not only delivered but also delivered without unnecessary delay.
Ariwoola was sworn in as the substantive CJN by former President Muhammadu Buhari on October 12, 2022, following the controversial resignation of his predecessor, Ibrahim Muhammad.
His tenure, though relatively short, was marked by efforts to enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of Nigeria’s judicial system.
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