Released November 20, 2021
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) said the Nigerian judiciary urgently needs to address the issue of delays in processing cases by the courts.
He described delays in the Nigerian legal process as “the elephant in the room”. wonders what would happen to the country’s legal profession in another 50 years, given the stalemate in the handling of cases by the courts and the question of the integrity of the legal process.
Osinbajo said this in Lagos on Friday when he was celebrating the 70th
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President’s Media and Public Relations, Laolu Akande, announced this on Saturday in a statement entitled “Why We Have to Deal with Slow Trials, from Osinbajo”.
The Vice President highlighted the delays in Nigerian courts and recalled “how the UK Court of Appeals had an opportunity to speak on the case (IPCO v. NNPC.) [2015] EWCA Civ 1144), where a challenge to enforcement of an arbitral award by a Nigerian arbitral tribunal has been filed in the English Court of Appeal.
“The court described the delays in parallel proceedings in a Nigerian court as catastrophic and it could take another 30 years to resolve.
“The expert who testified about delays in Nigerian courts was a former Supreme Court judge who said it could take 20 to 30 years for a case to be resolved in a Nigerian court,” said the vice president.
Prof. Osinbajo called for further engagements from stakeholders on the integrity of the legal process and its key players, particularly judges and lawyers, to provide solutions to the challenge of litigation delays.
He also suggested that the deliberators should focus on practical and actionable ideas rather than working through the problems, saying, “We are all experts at knowing the problem.”
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Describing the celebrant Olanipekun as “one of the most consistent and influential lawyers in the Commonwealth,” the vice president added that in addition to his awards and achievements, his friendliness, philanthropy and faith have influenced many lives.
Osinbajo thanked God for giving the legal authority “an always youthful physique and disposition” and said, “Chief Olanipekun’s great intellect, his mastery of the law, its substance and its technical details, his incredible ability to do the job The crux of the matter, to let whole juries see its sometimes daring points; his disarming wit and humor, his sometimes lyrical and poetic remarks, quoting from classics and scriptures, easily make him one of the most outstanding minds in the advocacy of this or any other generation.
For his part, celebrant Olanipekun, SAN, said that the justice summit organized by his law firm, among his modest contributions to the advancement of the judicial system in Nigeria, belongs to the sector and remains a matter of concern and should concern stakeholders.
Panelists at the event included the former Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Olarenwaju Fagbohun, who gave the keynote address on “Implementing Justice Sector Reforms”, the Chief Judge of Borno State, Justice Kashim Zannah, who went on to speak “Anchoring the Integrity of Processes in Judicial Appointments ”, while a retired Supreme Court judge, Judge Paul Galumje, spoke on“ Anchoring the Integrity of Processes in Judicial Reforms ”.
Others were human rights attorney Femi Falana, SAN, who spoke on “Political Influence Over Judicial Appointments”; Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abubakar Mahmud, SAN, spoke on “How to Balance Diversity, Gender, Inclusion and Merit in Legal Appointments” and Funke Adekoya, SAN, spoke on “Essential Cooperation for Successful Justice Sector Reform”. . “
At the WOC Justice Summit, there was also a non-lawyer, Ibukun Awosika, who spoke about the “effects of judicial reforms on public trust”.
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