According to him, magistrates share courtrooms to hear cases in the nation’s capital.
The CJ spoke at an event held to mark the opening of its 2023/2024 legal year.
“There are no adequate courtrooms for magistrates to conduct cases within Abuja and its environs. Currently, some of our magistrates are sharing courtrooms, ” he said.
He also noted that despite having a total complement of 58 judges, the courts are being overstretched with caseloads.
The CJ admitted that this has led to delays in the determination of cases.
He explained, “Of course, when courts are overloaded with cases, it can lead to several challenges, including delays in the legal process and potential strain on the judicial system.
“Creatively, the FCT High Court is adopting various means to address the situation.”
He said in the 2022/2023 legal year, the FCT high court completed 4,293 cases, while the magistrates handled 7,328 cases.
The CJ added, “For the records, the FCT High Court officially commenced the 2022/2023 legal year on Monday, October 17, 2022.
“It brought forward a total number of 12,513 cases, encompassing both civil and criminal matters, from the preceding 2021/2022 legal year.
“Similarly, the Magistrates Court had 5,629 cases carried forward from the previous Legal Year.”
Yusuf continued, “Moving on to the 2022/2023 legal year, the FCT High Court assigned 5,952 new cases, consisting of both civil and criminal matters, while the Magistrate Courts received 7,354 filings, also encompassing both civil and criminal cases.
“In the course of the year, the FCT High Court successfully determined 4,293 cases, consisting of both civil and criminal matters, resulting in an impressive overall completion rate of 62.4 per cent.
“Meanwhile, the Magistrate Courts successfully determined 7,328 cases, encompassing both civil and criminal matters, and thereby achieving an outstanding completion rate of 90 per cent.
“As the 2022/2023 legal year wound up, there were 13,996 pending cases, covering both civil and criminal matters, at the Magistrate Court.”
