Senate moves to expand judiciary as caseload overwhelms courts

The Senate on Wednesday commenced legislative enactment to grow Nigeria’s national judiciary, giving 2nd speechmaking to 2 bills aimed astatine expanding the fig of judges astatine the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal to code mounting lawsuit backlogs and delays successful justness delivery.

This followed the information of a Bill for an Act to amend the Federal High Court Act to summation the fig of its judges, and a Bill for an Act to amend the Court of Appeal Act, to among different things, summation the fig of justices of the tribunal from 70 to 110 and supply for the integration of virtual tribunal proceedings.

Leading statement connected the measure to amend the Federal High Court Act, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said the connection had go indispensable owed to the accelerated enlargement of the court’s jurisdiction and the exponential maturation successful cases earlier it.

He told lawmakers that the Federal High Court present exercises exclusive jurisdiction implicit captious areas including gross and taxation, banking, aviation, telecommunications, anti-corruption cases, coercion financing, lipid and state disputes, and election-related matters.

“Over the years, the measurement of cases earlier the Federal High Court has accrued exponentially. The statutory fig of judge...