Law • Created June 20, 2017 02:00

Group seeks desk review of judicial reform

A law-based non-governmental organization, Law and Empowerment Initiative has urged the Federal Government to adopt desk review for the planned judicial reform in Nigeria. The Programme Manager of the group which is also known as Partners West Africa, Barbara Maigari, said the group made this advocacy after observing court activities across some states of the […]

Group seeks desk review of judicial reform
Group seeks desk review of judicial reform

A law-based non-governmental organization, Law and Empowerment Initiative has urged the Federal Government to adopt desk review for the planned judicial reform in Nigeria.

The Programme Manager of the group which is also known as Partners West Africa, Barbara Maigari, said the group made this advocacy after observing court activities across some states of the federation. The court observation programme had the support of United States Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), she said.

She said the group adopted four strategies, which include desk review of judicial reforms in the country since 1999; observation of court proceedings; monitoring of cases in various courts as well as interviews conducted on court users.

Maigari said a total of 74 observers were deployed across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kano State, to work closely with Judges, and at the end of the project, the group blamed some of the lapses experienced in dispensation of justice to heavy workload on the judges, sitting time of courts, supports available to the courts as well as the number of civil and criminal cases listed in the daily cause list.

“The findings showed that support available to the courts is more of manpower. However, this is not complemented by technology either in the form of microphone or public address system as well as electronic recording. These affect the effectiveness of the courts,” she said.

As a way forward, the group urged the National Judicial Council (NJI) or States Judicial Service Commission to devise an objective means of monitoring punctuality and attendance rates of judges and magistrates.

Tags