Court of Appeal at 40; standing strong and restoring confidence in the judiciary
The Court of Appeal recently turned 40 – marking 40 years of enormous challenges, fundamental developments and giant strides in the face of the crisis rocking the judiciary in Nigeria.
The Court of Appeal is established as a Court for the entire Federation under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is also an intermediate or appellate tribunal between the Supreme Court of Nigeria and other tribunals. The court of appeal decides appeals from the district courts within the federal judicial system, and in some instances from other designated federal courts and administrative agencies. Judges of the Court of Appeal are recommended by the National Judicial Council, nominated by the President of Nigeria and confirmed by the Senate.
In a recent message to judges and staff, the President of the Court Zainab Bulkachuwa, acknowledged that the Court was beset with the challenge of establishing a judicial system suited for a democratic society.
She said, “Primitive systems of judicial administration have been over taken by numerous innovations in administration and science and technology. The Court is not unmindful of these challenges. Information technology and Internet are fast taking space in business, industry and administration. Maintenance of independence of the judiciary has been provided in the constitution of Nigeria. A democratic society needs an independent judiciary, which can ensure the citizens to judicially avail their fundamental rights.”
Just before the general elections of 2015, the Court of Appeal exercised its constitutional powers under Section 285 (1) of the 1999 Constitution to set up Election Petition Tribunals (EPTs) in all the states of the federation to hear and determine election petitions. Soon after the inauguration of the EPTs and swearing-in of the chairmen and members of the tribunals, training programmes were organised for the chairmen, members and justices of the Court of Appeal to highlight their role, broaden their scope and knowledge in the adjudication and determination of election petitions and appeals. They were empowered and enabled for the enormous task before them,
In achieving these, the Court of Appeal focused on the sanctity of the 180 days stipulated for the determination of an election petition and 60 days for an appeal; and the method of application for issuance of pre-hearing notice.
Following the 2015 general elections, a total of 39 petitions were received in the various governorship election petition tribunals; 79 petitions in the senatorial elections; 179 in the House of Representatives election; and 380 in the State Houses of Assembly elections. A total of 749 appeals emanated from the decisions of the various election petition tribunals. Justices of the Court of Appeal were able to dispose of the appeals within the period required bylaw without a single appeal lapsing despite the inconvenience of shuttling from one division to the other. Some of the justices had to forego vacations to ensure the determination of the appeals within the stipulated time.
The established ‘Time Limit’ is said to be the best thing that has happened to the electoral process in Nigeria; as without the 180 days’ time limit on the tribunals and 60 days on the appellate courts, election petitions and appeals would have gone awry as it was in the past to the detriment of speedy administration of justice.
In 2016, the Court of Appeal in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) organised a stock taking conference at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, for Justices of the Court of Appeal and tribunal judges. The 2-day conference gave participants an opportunity for an overview of the activities of the Election Petition Tribunals (EPT) and for self-examination on how the judges fared in discharging their national assignment of adjudicating the numerous election petitions and appeals.
IFES country director, Shalva Kipshidze, said in a message that with the outcome of the tribunals and appeals, true sustainable democracy can only thrive on a strong and reliable judicial system.
“The judiciary, through the election petition tribunals and appeals has assisted greatly in the credibility of elections in Nigeria. The Court of Appeal from our observation has been very strategic in its management of the process. It is therefore hoped that the existing legal frameworks made up of the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act will continue to empower the judiciary in order to sustain the momentum and deepen democracy in Nigeria,” she said.
The Court of Appeal continues to thrive on this front.
There are currently seventy-two Nigerian courts of appeals across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. There are 12 North-Central, 10 in Northeast, 10 in Northwest, 10 in, 10 in South-south, 9 in Southeast and 11 in Southwestern Nigeria. The Headquarter is located at the Three Arms Zone in Abuja.