The Court of Appeal may get as many as 150 Justices, up from the 90 provided for in the Court of Appeal Act, 2004.
This followed the recommendation contained in a report of the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary on a Bill for an Act to amend the Court of Appeal Act CAP, C36, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, submitted on the floor of the Green Chamber before the parliament proceeded on Sallah break a fortnight ago.
The amendment seeks to increase the number of justices of the Court of Appeal from 90 to 150 and provide for the appointment of a minimum of six justices in every judicial division of the court to enhance speedy and efficient justice delivery and to improve citizens’ access to justice and for related matters.
Section 1 of the Court of Appeal Act 2004 provides that, “The number of justices of the Court of Appeal including the President of that Court shall be 90.”
A copy of the submitted report exclusively obtained by our correspondent amended the Section to read, “Section One of the Principal Act is amended by (a) substituting for the word, ‘ninety’ in line 2, the words, at least ‘one hundred and fifty.’
“(b) Inserting after Section One, new subsection ‘(2)’ (3)’ and remembering the section accordingly.”
The proposed legislation now known as the Court of Appeal (Amendment) Bill, 2023 also provides that “Every judicial division of the court shall comprise of at least six justices.”
It would be recalled that a communique issued at the 2023 election petition tribunals/court and appeals review workshop for Justices of the Court of Appeal, Chairmen, and registry staff of election petition tribunals in Abuja on May 20, 2024, resolved that “The number of Justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal should be increased to make justice accessible to the Nigerian people.”
Justifying the report, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Oluwole Oke said the 90 justices provided for in the 2004 Act are not enough to handle the cases in the appeal court, citing the size of the country.
He said, “90 Justices are not enough. We need quick access to justice, looking at the size of the country.”
On whether the appointment of more Justices for the Appeal Court would not impose an additional financial burden on the Federal Government, Oke who represents Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, Osun State, disagreed, asking, “For dispensation of justice in the land? No, it’s (financial implication) nothing compared to what is being looted in the economy by way of tax evasion and illegal bunkering. Justice remains the cornerstone of our country’s development and the hope of the common man.”
Meanwhile, there are indications that the legislative agenda may consider the amendment of the constitution to provide for more roles for Deputy Governor and Vice President.
In a separate interview with Sunday PUNCH, the member representing Abeokuta North/Obafemi-Owode/Odeda Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Olumide Osoba, expressed the readiness of the 10th House to look into any proposal if such is deemed fit for consideration by the House Committee on Constitution Review.
He said, “The Constitutional Review Committee led by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, will accept all recommendations and do a country-wide engagement of all stakeholders and afterward, deliberate on all conclusions arrived at during the stakeholder engagements.”
He added, “The Nigerian people will decide on every alteration and amendment reached.”
