‘5m cases pending in Nigerian courts’

Justice Fred Oho of Delta State High Court has revealed that there are over five million cases pending in Nigerian courts due to a ‘hugely cumbersome and overburdened legal system’. He made this revelation in a researched paper on ‘Religious Doctrines, The Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR)’ during a public lecture organised by Brotherhood […]

Justice Fred Oho of Delta State High Court has revealed that there are over five million cases pending in Nigerian courts due to a ‘hugely cumbersome and overburdened legal system’.
He made this revelation in a researched paper on ‘Religious Doctrines, The Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR)’ during a public lecture organised by Brotherhood Lawyers International Fellowship convention which has its headquarters in Calabar.
He did not reckon that the strike by the Judiciary Workers Association of Nigeria which led to the closure of many courts in the country, particularly in Cross River State for nearly one year now had contributed to the huge number of pending cases.
He said the cases he was referring to had been argued in the past 20 years and witnessed endless postponements.
“There are currently over five million cases pending in Nigerian courts.  Some of these have been appealed and argued for more than 20 years,” he said.
He contended that Nigeria was not alone in this predicament but that the backlog and delays in justice delivery plagued a wide array of legal systems.
Justice Oho stated that the backlog and delays have been too lamentable in Nigeria.  “No where has this become more accentuated than in modern day Nigeria.  It has created broad political and economic implications and endangered Nigerian society,” he said.
He however stated that with stakeholders in the legal community spearheading legal reforms there was hope that speeding trials and delivery of judgments could then be facilitated.
“One of the primary mechanisms through which the Nigerian courts have sought to deal with backlog and delays is through the creation of Multi-Door Court Houses designed to promote rapid conciliation and binding resolutions of disputes,” he observed.
Two high court judges have advocated complete revolution of Nigerian justice system not only to enhance the judiciary but to help it reduce the frighteningly high number of pending cases in the courts.