The Nigerian Bar Association has firmly opposed a Senate proposal to expand the number of Supreme Court justices from 21 to 30, arguing that structural reforms are more critical than increasing personnel.
The proposal, spearheaded by Senator Osita Izunaso representing Imo West, seeks to address the chronic backlog of cases at Nigeria’s apex court by enlarging the bench. Izunaso explained that despite the court reaching its full constitutional complement of 21 justices following recent appointments, it remains overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cases.
“Litigants are being given hearing dates stretching to 2027 and even 2028,” the lawmaker said. “If we increase the number to 30, we can constitute at least five panels simultaneously to fast-track judgments.”
However, in a reaction to the proposal, NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN, insisted that the issue at hand is not merely numerical but systemic. He emphasized that the real solution lies in amending the Constitution to reduce the types of cases allowed to escalate to the Supreme Court.
“When the bench had 15 or 16 justices, there were calls to raise it to 21. Today, we have 21, but the workload hasn’t eased,” Osigwe said in an interview with Sunday PUNCH. “The justice delivery system is still inefficient. The Nigerian Supreme Court is regarded as one of the most overworked in the world.”
He recommended that only matters of constitutional significance or conflicting decisions from the Court of Appeal should make it to the apex court. According to him, “Cases that involve settled legal principles should not consume the time of the Supreme Court.”
Osigwe further advocated for structural improvements, including digital reforms and the implementation of modern case management systems to enhance the court’s operations.
“Increasing the number of justices without addressing the core issues will not bring about the desired efficiency. Whether we increase the bench to 30 or even 50, the court will remain inefficient without fundamental reforms,” he stressed.
The NBA president also underscored the need to ensure that the Supreme Court is able to sit in multiple panels consistently to improve case turnaround times.