Uninformed judicial officers

President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr Augustine Alegeh (SAN) made an eye-opening revelation recently when he asserted that ignorance was prevalent in the nation’s judiciary. Speaking in Lagos at a sensitization seminar for external solicitors to the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mr Alegeh noted the challenge was far more urgent than the […]

President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr Augustine Alegeh (SAN) made an eye-opening revelation recently when he asserted that ignorance was prevalent in the nation’s judiciary. Speaking in Lagos at a sensitization seminar for external solicitors to the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mr Alegeh noted the challenge was far more urgent than the problem of corruption in the judiciary. He claimed that the ‘judicial block’ was a result of members of the Bench not continuously updating their knowledge on developments and innovations in the profession. 
There has been a digital revolution in the law profession in Nigeria in which judges seem to have been left behind, unable or unwilling to ‘cross over’. This can be seen in the publication of Nigeria Weekly Law Reports (NWLR), started on October 1, 1985.  It contains the decisions of the appellate court and Supreme Court. A comprehensive index to the law reports is published annually, which contains an index of cases reported, index of subject matter of cases, index of Nigerian authorities referred to in the reported cases, and indexes of statutes and rules of Courts. All this information is available online, but Judges do not access it. As a result, lawyers complain that if they cited recent judgment in cases before some courts, the judges would ask for and collect the relevant law report from the lawyers and adjourn the case to enable the judges update their knowledge of the matter they are supposed to be presiding over! This causes interminable delays in the dispensation of justice.  
Senior advocates appear to be far-ahead in keeping up with trends in legal processes, in comparison with members of the Bench, although in recent years some of the holders of the title seem to have obtained it through political patronage or the influence of others.
SAN title holders are also eligible for advancement in the judicial process to be appointed to serve on the Bench; most members of the Bar however do not find that prospect attractive. It is a common to observe SANs in open court giving pep talks to judges on current trends in the law.  A major contributor to this problem is the congested court system in the face of which there is little time for judges to find time to keep abreast, devoting perhaps too much time to writing legthy judgments by hand, rather than researching the law. In Osun State, it was a huge embarrassment that a judge of the High Court was ignorant of the fact that she cannot initiate impeachment proceedings against a governor. In the view of the NBA President, that was a case of crass ignorance rather than corruption. The situation has degenerated to the level that few litigants now take decisions of the High Court as the final word on the matter. The large number of cases proceeding to the Court of Appeal indicates a lack of faith in the judiciary at lower levels. In their defence, the judiciary is treated as the junior partner among the three arms of government from which much is expected for the less it gets in terms of resources. Year after year, the two other branches of government – the legislature and the executive – appropriate to themselves far more than they ever need, thus leaving the judiciary with the crumbs. In a situation where lawyers are fast losing confidence for the knowledge and integrity of Judges, it is imperative that these problems are addressed immediately.
 One suggestion is to make judges experts on particular branches of the law. This would require them to have a more limited but specialized and current knowledge of relevant laws pertaining to the cases they handle. On a more practical note, it is clear that more judges need to be appointed to reduce the workload. Information Technology systems must be introduced into the courts to give judges access to up-to-date indexed legal references. Stenographers and either video or audio recording for real time recording of court cases must be made compulsory. A full legal team comprising secretaries and research assistants should be attached to each judge to facilitate judgments that can stand intense scrutiny by superior courts and interested litigants and also stand the test of time.