As Justice Olukayode Ariwoola retired from his position as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on August 22, 2024, he used his valedictory session to highlight the pressing issues facing the nation’s judicial system.
Justice Ariwoola, who turned 70 on the day of his retirement, called for immediate reforms to reduce the overwhelming number of cases burdening the Supreme Court.
In his speech at the Supreme Court in Abuja, on Thursday, the outgoing CJN emphasized that too many cases, which should have been resolved at the appellate court level, end up at the Supreme Court.
This situation, he noted, has contributed significantly to the delays in justice delivery, leaving litigants and lawyers waiting for years to have their cases decided.
Justice Ariwoola stressed that the right to a fair hearing is fundamentally compromised when cases take an excessive amount of time to be heard.
“Access to justice has contributed largely to the delay in the hearing of cases as litigants and lawyers are forced to wait for several years to have their cases decided,” he remarked.
He called for the appointment of more judicial officers to the bench, which he believes would help in the timely adjudication of cases.
The former CJN’s concerns are not without merit. The Supreme Court of Nigeria has long struggled with an enormous backlog of cases.
The situation is partly due to the country’s legal framework, which allows for nearly all types of cases, including election petitions and civil disputes, to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
This has led to a situation where the court is inundated with cases, many of which are not of significant national importance but are rather routine matters that should be handled by lower courts.
The retiring CJN pointed out that the right to a fair hearing, as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution, is undermined when the judicial process is excessively slow.
“The right to fair hearing can only be guaranteed when lawyers and litigants do not have to wait for so long to have their cases heard,” he stated.
Justice Ariwoola was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court in 2011 after serving as a Justice of the Court of Appeal from 2005 to 2011.
His legal journey began at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he earned his law degree in 1980.
A year later, he was called to the Bar and enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Solicitor.
Justice Ariwoola’s tenure as CJN began in June 2022 when he was appointed in an acting capacity following the resignation of his predecessor, Justice Tanko Muhammad, due to health reasons.
He was later confirmed as the substantive CJN in October 2022 after his nomination was approved by the Senate.
The call for judicial reforms has received support from the executive branch. At the valedictory session, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to overhauling the justice sector.
“The Federal Government will promote and uphold the fundamental rights of all citizens, but no breach of these rights by any person or organization under any guise except as stipulated by the constitution would be accepted,” Fagbemi said.
