By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
(Reporting from Abuja)
The Federal High Court of Nigeria on Monday had a special session to formally mark the 2022/2023 legal year.
Traditionally, the special court session was supposed to be held at the beginning of every new legal year which normally falls in September after eight weeks of court vacation. However for the past two years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the economic downturn, the event was shifted to December in order to merge it with the annual get-together and merit award ceremony of the Federal High Court.
On this occasion, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Honourable Justice John Terhemba Tsoho (OFR) formally declared the 2022/2023 legal year open.
“In the name of the Almighty God and for the progress of our judicial system, the quicker and quality administration of justice, I, the honourable Justice John Terhemba Tsoho (OFR) do hereby declare the Federal High Court, 2022/2023 legal year open” the Chief Judge declared.
In his speech on the occasion of the special court session to ceremonially mark the commencement of the Federal High Court legal year 2022/2023, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Honourable Justice John Terhemba Tsoho said that besides being an annual event, it is also a cherished long-established tradition of ushering in the new legal year.
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However, due to hard economic times facing the country in which the judiciary is a constituent part, the Federal High Court of Nigeria was compelled to merge together the new legal year ceremony, the 38th Federal High Court Annual Judges’ Conference and the End-of-year get-together in order to save cost.
Reviewing the progress, the Chief Judge said: “In our determination to enhance the smooth administration of justice, some Rules, Practice Direction and Guidelines were released within the legal year.
“The Federal High Court Tax Appeal Rules, 2022 and the Admiralty Jurisdiction Procedure Rules, 2022 have been signed and are in the process of being gazetted.
” I also released the Federal High Court (Pre-Election) Practice Directions, 2022 and Federal High Court Practice Directions ( Trial of Terrorism Cases) 2022.
However, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court Justice John Tsoho decried the financial squeeze which has affected the welfare of Judges and staff of the court, stating that “the budget of the court this year unfortunately makes it almost impracticable to effectively achieve its normal running.
“It is in reality, not different from that of last year, considering the raging inflationary trend.
He said the financial squeeze has raised the need for the judiciary to exercise more control over its administrative, financial and operational matters, to have the capacity to implement the necessary reforms within the court system.
Other challenges facing the court are shortage of judges which has placed the serving judges in a very workload.
” It is a known fact that the Judiciary generally is overworked and the Federal High Court is not exempted. Some judges of this court have over 1,000 cases in their dockets. The situation is particularly typical of Abuja, Lagos and Port-Harcourt judicial divisions.
The Chief Judge said that the Federal High Court is used to being expected to do more with little or no resources provided at all. He added that while the needs of the court continue to rise, the funding does not keep pace.
Giving the statistics of cases before the court, the Chief Judge said that at the closure of 2020/2021 legal year which closed in July 2021, a total of 131,821 cases pending at end of that legal year and carried over to the 2021/2022 legal year.
He said that within the legal year, a total of 17,677 cases were filed, while the total number of cases disposed was 13,906. When added to the total number of cases carried over from the previous year, it becomes 135,592 cases pending at the end of the legal year.
Despite this herculean load borne by the court, the judges have been retiring with alarming rate.
He said that though, six new judges were appointed to ease the pressure of work on it, but even at that, the current number of Federal High Court Judges’ stands at Seventy seven (77), which is still short of the constitutionally set limit of 100.
“There is a crying need speedily increase the maximum number of judges for the court, in the interest of the litigating public and the general society.
The Chief Judge noted that the National Assembly initiated a Bill for the increase of the number of judges. He implored that the Bill should be expeditiously passed into law.
Speaking on infrastructural development, he said that top priority has been given to the Headquarters Annex and the New court complex in Lagos, adding that the building of the Headquarters is about 90 percent completed, having s feeling of expectant optimism that it will be ready for commissioning in this new legal year.
He appreciated the Honourable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola for his humility, friendliness and ready disposition to proffer solutions to the issues affecting the court.
“In this New Year, my mind is set on the primary responsibility of this court, which is to provide access to justice as far as possible. Also, I am more resolute than ever to keep to my promise of providing innovative methods of improving the administration of justice ” Justice Tsoho stressed.
