The Supreme Court of Nigeria should be unbundled

Written by Obol Okoi Obono-Obla

The Supreme Court of Nigeria ,Court of Appeal, and the National Judicial Council should be federalized and decentralized.

You recollect there was a Western Nigeria Court of Appeal headed by Justice Akintola Aguda in the 1960s before military incursion into governance led to its abolishing in 1967. 

Let every state have its own Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. 

The National Judicial Council should be abolished, and its responsibilities performed by States Judicial Councils.

Why not ? 60 something years ago, we had a federalized judiciary.

We had the Western Nigeria Court of Appeal.

Military rule abolished it and unitarized the judiciary. 

Why should assault, libel traffic property inheritance, matrimonial cases etc, go to the Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court is not working optimally and efficiently as it should.

It is ovrrburdebed and vested with excessive jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court should be unbundled and shed of excess load. 

I have appeals in that court I filed since 2013, and yet they have not been heard. 

Civil cases have stayed in the Supreme Court for several years.

Why should appeals from the 36 States and Abuja go to Abuja to be heard by one Supreme Court made up of 16 Justices?

It wouldn't work. 

You file an appeal in the Supreme Court, and it lingers there for over 10 years. 

An investor that gets caught up in a legal entangle over his investment would have his money tied down for ten years because his opponent waged a war of attribtion against him and dragged him to the Supreme Court, where the case will linger for ten years or more.

Why should assault, libel, traffic, land dispute, commercial contract disputes, property inheritance, matrimonial cases etc, go to the Supreme Court?



Chief Okoi Obono-Obla

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