Senior lawyers otherwise known as Senior Advocates of Nigeria have called for the establishment of a constitutional court in other to decongest the workload of the present courts in the country.
They argued that when it is established, the constitutional court will effectively handle pre and post election cases so that other courts are in a position to adjudicate in other civil and criminal cases
Representative of the body, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), who made the call in Abuja Thursday at a valedictory session held in honour of retired Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu Kafarati, regretted that the earlier proposal for the court was struck down due to lack of foresight.
He insisted that the establishment of constitutional courts must be revisited and reintegrated into the constitution of the country in compliance with Section 250.
According to Awomolo, all political matters, including pre and post election matters and election petitions will effectively be handled by the court, while all appeals from the court will terminate in the Court of Appeal.
The senior lawyer said that each state of the federation should have her own Court of Appeal and that only constitutional matters will go to the Supreme Court.
Awomolo recalled the revelation by the Federal High Court that over 16, 000 cases were carried over from the 2018 to the 2019 legal year with many of the cases filed over four years ago, adding that the trend must not be allowed any longer because it can lead to denial of justice.
“Decongestion in all the courts have become a great burden, a source of concern and embarrassment. In the Supreme Court, only political cases are being heard on daily basis.
“Indeed, every day, on the course list of the Supreme Court, there are about 12 to 15 cases for hearing. The Court of Appeal in all the divisions are daily preoccupied with pre and post election cases.
“Most high courts ate occupied with political cases and most judicial officers from the high courts to Supreme Court have no vacation this year due to heavy work load of cases in their courts.
“The consequences of these, is that litigants in ordinary civil cases and matters are crowning in pains because justice has been and is still being denied them due to delays in their matters”, he said..
The body of senior lawyers also canvassed that the Code of Conduct Tribunal which has been elevated to criminal court must be seen as a judicial body as a result of the enormous powers vested in the tribunal, adding that it must be made a part of the court under Section 6(5) of the constitution and that any person to be appointed must be certified fit and prosper in every sense of it.
Awomolo then called on the Bar and the Bench to push for constitutional amendments to back up the establishment of the suggested constitutional courts.
In his speech, the acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho applauded the contributions of his immediate predecessor to the enactment of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2019, adding that the new Rules introduced a great and remarkable departure from the old Rules. He also commended him for constituting an anti corruption unit in the court to avoid corruption.
The retired Chief Judge thanked his brother judges for their contribution in making his tenure as head of the court a success.
The occasion was graced by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, lawyers and traditional rulers.