The unprecedented delay the suit between some state governments instituted against the federal government of Nigeria has suffered at the Supreme Court has been an eye opener to ordinary Nigerians on why cases spend unnecessary years and waste unexplainable time in the Nigerian courts of law.
Sometimes clients will accost me on why their cases which they thought are straightforward ones that ought to be quickly determined by the court will be slapped with unfathomable adjournments and delays in the court. My explanations always fall on deaf ears.
The naira redesign case initially instituted by three state governments (Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara state) and subsequently joined by other states have been adjourned for the third consecutive time now and the substance of the case is yet to be entertained by the Supreme Court before whom the matter is tabled before. The substantive issue before the court has to do with the court stopping the federal government with the naira redesign and withdrawal of some old currency because “the naira scarcity has caused unnecessary sufferings to the masses”. Another substance of the case to be determined by the court which is a defence on the side of the federal government is the issue of jurisdiction; whether the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to entertain this particular matter or should the matter be struck out due to lack of jurisdiction.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 15 (Sept 9 – Dec 7, 2024) has started registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
None of these core issues has been heard by the court but the case has been adjourned for the third consecutive time; to be entertained again on the 3rd of March 2023 which I can predict will likely be adjourned to further dates.
This is a typical example of what goes on in the Nigerian courts on daily bases and accounts for why cases spend a number of years in court. Some time-sensitive cases end up being overtaken by events. Some cases end up spending up to 20 years from the lower court till it gets to the Supreme Court before the substance of the case is handled by the superior court.
Most often than not, these unnecessary adjournments and delays in the court of law are caused by frivolous activities of either the lawyers handling the case or by the activities of the judges before whom the matter is tabled and in few times, by factors beyond the control of both the lawyers and the court ie acts of god.
We as lawyers know for a fact that some cases spend unnecessary time and are bedevilled with unnecessary delays because of the frivolous interlocutory applications and objections lawyers on the opposing sides raise at every point in the case; the interlocutory applications no matter how frivolous or silly it is or it may seem as a rule must always be determined first by the court before they court delves into the crux of the case.
Some lawyers who know for a fact that they do not have a good case but intentionally want to waste the time of the court for reasons best known to them tend to use interlocutory applications to cause unwarranted delays to the court and choke up the court calendar and schedule.
Some senior lawyers as well institute frivolous matters in order to make up the stipulated number of cases required of the SANship applicants in order to qualify for conferment with the silk title.
The blames for the unnecessary delays in Nigerian courts should not go only to the lawyers. The judges/court also contribute heavily to these delays. Sometimes a judge adjourns a matter for reasons best known to them as they have the power and are at liberty to adjourn a matter as many times as they deem fit. Sometimes, a judge fails to seat for the day for personal reasons and every case on the court course list for the day is moved forward to another day further choking up an already tight schedule of the court.
Also, a judge handling a particular matter could retire, be transferred or elevated to another court or die; what happens in that instance is that every case before that particular judge before he retired, elevated, died or transferred will start de novo i.e. start afresh before another judge. It does not matter if the case has been before the judge for years, it will have to start all over again before another judge. This no doubt is a huge contributor to delays in our judiciary.
It will interest you to know that some courts in Nigeria no longer have a free opening for new matters and even for adjournments of old matters in 2023. If you go to some courts now to take a date or institute a fresh matter, you will be given a date in 2024 or even in 2025 because all the dates in 2023 have been taken or reserved for other previous cases.
The judiciary and the ministry of justice need to look into the time cases spend in court and the contributing factors and look for a way to speed up cases in courts maybe through introduction of new rules because as it said that justice delayed is Justice denied especially in cases that are time-sensitive. Some cases need to be attended to immediately and entertained quickly before justice can be seen to be done.