Reps support bill seeking to increase number of Appeal Court judges from 90 to 150

Ongoing efforts to expedite dispensation of justice in the country gained a boost as members of the House of Representatives expressed support for the bill which seeks to increase the number of judges at the Court of Appeal from 90 to a minimum of 150.

The lawmakers expressed support during the debate on a bill sponsored by Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Onofiok Luke (PDP-Akwa Ibom), who explained that the bill seeks to increase the quality and soundness of judicial decisions by making available more hands in the adjudication process at the appellate level and decrease the workload on the shoulders of the justices of the appellate court and thereby extend their life expectancy.

Leading the debate on its general principles, Hon. Luke lamented that the current number has become grossly inadequate, resulting in the slow dispensation of justice by the courts.

He said: “The Court of Appeal is the intermediate court between the High Court (including other subordinate courts and tribunals) and the Supreme Court. Established in 1976, the court had only 3 judicial divisions. The divisions of the Court have now grown to 20.

“Some of the new divisions were commissioned in 2020. The law perches the maximum number of justices of the court at 90.

“This number has become inadequate given the recent creation of the new divisions of the court – Kano, Gombe, Awka, Asaba, etc.

“There is a high increase in the volumes of cases attended to by the court, which of course has necessitated the creation of the new divisions.

“As a matter of fact, judicial divisions of the court with a huge volume of cases like Abuja and Lagos ought to have a minimum of nine justices so that the divisions can have three panels sitting simultaneously.

“It is necessary to note that it is this same inadequate pool of justices of the Court of Appeal that is drawn to sit in Election Appeal Tribunals, thereby compounding delay in justice delivery.

“Owing to the inadequate number of justices in the Court, cases stay in the docket for an undesirable long period of time,” Hon. Luke noted.

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