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| Nigerian Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) |
He said despite the passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, criminal cases were still moving at a snail’s pace in the courts largely due to poor case management.
A statement on Wednesday quoted Osinbajo as saying this at a symposium organised last week in Abuja by a group, Initiative for Socio-Cultural Fairness and Equity, in conjunction with the Conference of Western Attorneys General Africa Alliance Partnership.
The Vice-President, according to the statement, was represented on the occasion by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye.
He maintained that once ministers in the temple of justice show more commitment to proper case management, the problem of delayed justice would have been largely solved, and this would in turn inspire confidence in the Nigerian legal system.
A former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Adolphus Karibe-Whyte, who was chairman on the occasion, urged defence lawyers in criminal cases to shun dilatory tactics, including application for unnecessary adjournments.
He said judges must always stand their ground and reject such request for adjournments.
Karibe-Whyte said judges must take advantage of the Plea and Case Management Hearing, which, he said, was specifically designed “to enable the court to deal, before hand, with all the issues about the case that may derail or cause delays of the trial.”
The Director, CWAG-AAP, Markus Green, harped on continuous training for judicial officials, noting that the symposium was “aimed at improving justice delivery in Nigeria, in line with CWAG AAP’s mandate of promoting the rule of law and international cooperation.”
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