The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has announced a special session in Lagos during which 360 pending appeals will be heard in a bid to reduce the growing backlog of cases in the appellate court.
Justice Dongban-Mensem made this known on Monday while presiding over the special sitting organised as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Court of Appeal.
According to her, 16 panels comprising 48 Justices have been constituted for the exercise.
“This sitting demonstrates our sustained commitment to improving the efficiency of justice delivery by consciously tackling the increasing volume of appeals,” she said.
She explained that Lagos, being Nigeria’s commercial hub, carries a heavy appellate workload, making the intervention necessary.
“It has become timely and necessary for the court to take proactive steps in managing its docket,” she added.
The Court of Appeal President disclosed that Justices from different divisions across the country will sit throughout the week in Lagos and at the National Industrial Court.
She appreciated the support of the Lagos State Attorney-General’s Office and the National Industrial Court, noting that their assistance made the exercise possible.
“Without this collaboration, our limited resources would not have allowed us to deploy this number of Justices,” she said.
Justice Dongban-Mensem urged lawyers and litigants to ensure their matters are ready for hearing and warned against avoidable delays.
“Counsel and parties must take full advantage of this opportunity by being prepared and strictly complying with procedural rules,” she stated.
Recalling a previous special sitting, she lamented that many appeals could not be heard due to lack of preparedness by counsel.
“It was painful that after spending scarce resources on logistics, many cases could not proceed because lawyers were not ready,” she said.
She also cautioned that the current sitting was strictly for judicial business.
“This is not a vacation. When we set time to work, we want to work,” she remarked.
Justice Dongban-Mensem further called on lawyers, litigants and the media to help safeguard public confidence in the judiciary.
“If people lose faith in the justice system, lawlessness may become difficult to control,” she warned.
She added that justice depends largely on evidence and citizen participation.
“Judges and law enforcement agencies are not magicians. They need facts and witnesses to do their work,” she said.
In his remarks, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, who spoke on behalf of the Bar, described the sitting as historic and commended the leadership of the Court of Appeal.
“This is a rare opportunity for the Lagos Bar to appear before a wide array of learned Justices drawn from different divisions,” he said.
He assured the court of the Bar’s readiness to support speedy hearing of cases.
“It is in our interest and that of our clients that these appeals are resolved expeditiously,” Adegboruwa stated.
He also congratulated the court on its golden jubilee and called attention to funding and infrastructure challenges facing the judiciary.
“The Bar will continue to engage with the Federal Government to ensure that the judiciary is adequately funded,” he added.
