Our Judiciary Can Be Better

Our Judiciary Can Be Better

By: Douglas Ogbankwa Esq.,

Statement Issued By the Vanguard for the Independence of the Judiciary on the 2025/2026 Legal Year

1. We welcome My Noble Lords, Learned Silks, Seniors, and Learned Colleagues to the 2025/2026 Legal Year.

2. Often, as an institution and profession, we fail to reflect on the happenings of the preceding Legal Year, which prevents us from identifying our shortcomings.

3. It is essential to include a review session of the previous year as part of the activities during the Opening of the Legal Year, enabling us to make meaningful projections for the new Legal Year.

4. The judiciary has not fully embraced technology to solve simple problems. In the 21st century, some courts still require people to physically visit to confirm court sittings. A simple text message indicating court adjournments and new hearing dates would resolve this issue.

5. Indigent litigants face challenges accessing virtual court sittings due to the lack of embedded virtual court infrastructure in court systems. Virtual court sittings are not automatic and require court approval, which can be time-consuming.

6. Applications for records of proceedings, certified true copies, and judgments are often readily available only at High Courts, while Magistrate Courts and Customary Courts are slower in providing these services.

7. Enforcing judgments and rulings is cumbersome and expensive, making it inaccessible to ordinary citizens.

8. Compiling Records of Appeal is excessively costly, even for the wealthy, while the poor struggle with the increasingly expensive justice system. Provisions for indigent litigants are rarely utilized.

9. Our prisons are overcrowded with individuals who shouldn't be there. As an institution and profession, we must consider the implications of our rulings and judgments. Bail is a constitutional right, as stated in Section 158 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and equivalent state laws.

10. Defendants arraigned at the Federal High Court often face unreasonable bail conditions, tantamount to denial of bail. In some cases, plea bargaining processes are made more complicated than full trials, with defendants being remanded until after vacation periods without proper legal justification.

11. The bail conditions at the Federal High Court are impractical. We urge the Chief Judge to issue a practice direction standardizing bail conditions, as bail enables defendants to prepare their defense.

12. Many children cannot resume school due to their parents' imprisonment. Indiscriminate remand orders affect not only individuals but also their families and businesses.

13. Conflicting court judgments on similar matters pose a significant issue.

14. Government institutions sponsoring seminars with judges and lawyers present raises concerns about impartiality, particularly if adverse parties are not represented. We must guard against not just bias but also the appearance of bias.

15. The appointment of judges should be transparent and subject to public scrutiny. Judges, as representatives of justice, should be beyond reproach, and every Nigerian should have the opportunity to question their eligibility.

16. We commend the Nigerian Judiciary for its impactful judgments and call for improved welfare for judges. The current system is inadequate, and judges' remuneration should be comparable to that of high-ranking government officials.

17. We advocate for enhanced security for judges and better court infrastructure, including computers and printers in every courtroom.

18. Nigerian judges still rely on longhand recording, unlike their global counterparts who use audiovisual technology. This hinders the efficiency of justice delivery.

19. We wish My Noble Lords, Learned Silks, Seniors, and Colleagues success in the new legal year. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Nigerian Judiciary, the Nigerian Bar Association, and Nigeria.

-Douglas Ogbankwa Esq.,

Convener,

Vanguard for the Independence of the Judiciary.