Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the newly appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) pledged on Wednesday to take action against senior lawyers who criticize the judiciary and comment on court cases that are sub judice on social media.
Kekere-Ekun made this statement during her Senate screening ahead of her confirmation as the CJN.
According to FIJ, the Senate hearing which was broadcast live by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). During the session, lawmakers questioned the CJN on various issues, including delays in the administration of justice and inefficiencies within the judicial system.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio questioned Justice Kekere-Ekun on whether she would tolerate the practice of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) providing commentary and analysis on sub judice cases during her tenure.
Sub judice cases are those currently under judicial consideration and thus barred from public discussion.
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In response, the acting CJN assured, “As chairman of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), we will ensure that those who should be disciplined, those who are in the habit of speaking on social media, condemning the judiciary, commenting on cases that are sub judice, will not have anywhere to hide. They will be dealt with decisively.”
“I will push for all our courts to be digitised because that will solve a lot of problems. It will be easier to track cases, from filing to judgment. It will be easier to check the progress of cases,” Kekere-Ekun said.
“In the rules of court, many have obsolete provisions that delay rather than speed up the court processes. Virtual hearing will also be utilised in tackling delays in hearing.
“Apart from the digitisation of the judiciary, I will promote Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to decongest our courts.”
While answering a question on her stance on the change of interference with the appointment of judicial officers, Kekere-Ekun said, “We will ensure that this process is more rigorous, transparent and acceptable to the people.”
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