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Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 — 15<br />
Court of Appeal @ 45: A spotlight towards<br />
an enhanced judicial prowess<br />
By Hafizu Isah<br />
WHEN the Federal Court of<br />
Appeal was established in<br />
1976 following Decree (now Cap.<br />
C36 Laws of the Federation of<br />
Nigeria 2004), the aim was to help<br />
lighten the burden of the Supreme<br />
Court. In other words, it came to<br />
serve as a bridge between the<br />
lower courts and the apex court.<br />
Owing to the December 31,<br />
1983, Military Intervention and<br />
the promulgation of the<br />
Constitution (Suspension and<br />
Modification) Decree, 1984 the<br />
name of the court was changed<br />
from Federal Court of Appeal to<br />
the Court of Appeal.<br />
The Court of Appeal was<br />
established as an Appellate Court<br />
to entertain:<br />
*Civil or Criminal appeals from<br />
the Federal High Court, High<br />
Court of the Federal Capital<br />
Territory, High Courts of the 36<br />
States as well as National Industrial<br />
Court, Customary Courts of Appeal<br />
of states and the Federal Capital<br />
Territory, Sharia Courts of Appeal<br />
of States and the Federal Capital<br />
Territory.<br />
*Election Petition Tribunal,<br />
Appeals from Martial Court, Code<br />
of Conduct Tribunal, Investments<br />
and Security Tribunals, Legal<br />
Practitioners Disciplinary<br />
Committee, and most recently, the<br />
Alternative Disputes Resolution<br />
(ADR) which was established on<br />
June 28, 2018.<br />
Growth:<br />
At the onset, the Court of Appeal<br />
started with three Judicial Divisions:<br />
Lagos, Kaduna, and Enugu.<br />
With the three operational<br />
Divisions, the need arose for<br />
expansion. As a result, in June, 1977,<br />
additional Divisions were<br />
established in Ibadan and Benin and<br />
in January, 1983, Jos Division came<br />
alive. This expansion continued in<br />
1989 as Port Harcourt Division was<br />
established and subsequently Abuja<br />
Division came to light in 1996.<br />
With increase in demand for<br />
services of the Court of Appeal, 2<br />
Judicial Divisions sprang in Ilorin<br />
and Calabar in February, 1999<br />
totalling 10 Judicial Divisions. 1999<br />
to 2009 witnessed the establishment<br />
of six more Divisions namely:<br />
Owerri, Sokoto, Yola, Ekiti, Akure,<br />
and Makurdi, bringing the<br />
Divisions to 16. To further take<br />
justice delivery closer to the people,<br />
four Divisions: Asaba, Awka, Gombe<br />
and Kano, were added between<br />
2014-2019. 45 years on, the Court<br />
of Appeal boasts of 20 Judicial<br />
Divisions, spread across the six<br />
geopolitical zones of Nigeria.<br />
As the second longest President of<br />
the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru<br />
Abdullahi, the Walin Hausa puts it,<br />
“the Court of Appeal is where the<br />
decisions are made; the Supreme<br />
Court merely whitewashes it” hence,<br />
the need for justice delivery to be<br />
taken seriously and closer to the<br />
people.<br />
From the above perspective, the<br />
need beckoned to increase the<br />
number of Justices adjudicating in<br />
this Noble Temple from the initial<br />
36 it started with to 41 in 1990.<br />
Again, it rose to 50 in 1993 and to<br />
70 in 2006. With the Court of Appeal<br />
Amendment Act of 2013 the<br />
number increased to 90. Currently,<br />
the Justices are 85 in number.<br />
The Court has produced seven<br />
presidents namely: Late HJustice<br />
D.O. Ibekwe, 1976 – 1978; Late<br />
Justice Mamman Nasir, 1978 –<br />
1992; late Justice Mohammed<br />
Akanbi, 1992 – 1999; Justice<br />
*Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem<br />
Umaru Abdullahi, 1999 – 2009; .<br />
Justice Isa Salami, 2009 – 2012;<br />
LateJustice Dalhatu Adamu (in<br />
Acting capacity) 2012 – 2013;<br />
Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, 2014 –<br />
2020; and Justice Monica<br />
Dongban-Mensem, 2020 – to date<br />
Sitting in the former Federal<br />
Capital of Nigeria, the Court was<br />
accommodated in the old Supreme<br />
Court Complex now Lagos Division.<br />
With the movement from Lagos to<br />
Abuja, the Court of Appeal domiciled<br />
at the Area 3 office complex which<br />
now houses the National Industrial<br />
Court, NIC. It was during the tenure<br />
of the then President, Court of Appeal<br />
Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi,<br />
CON that all hands were put on deck<br />
to build a befitting office complex,<br />
commissioned by the Ambassador<br />
of the Rule of Law and Commander-<br />
In-Chief of the Armed Forces, late<br />
President Umaru Musa Yar’adua,<br />
GCFR, on 15th December, 2008.<br />
The Court of Appeal on top of<br />
history right now, is a melting pot<br />
where justice is justice without colour,<br />
section or place of origin, where all<br />
the Justices must sit together in a<br />
quorum to take decision in any<br />
matter devoid of sentiment. This is<br />
the reason some Senior Advocates<br />
of Nigeria have been speaking on<br />
the developments as the Court turns<br />
45 years old.<br />
Historically speaking, for Chief<br />
Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, who<br />
has spent over three decades at the<br />
Bar, the establishment of the Court<br />
of Appeal as an intermediate Court<br />
between the High Court and the<br />
Supreme Court is justified. For Chief<br />
Garba S. Pwul, SAN, the Court has<br />
been extraordinary in terms of<br />
effective expansion, performance<br />
and impacting positively on the legal<br />
system of Nigeria. While Chief<br />
Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, is of the view<br />
that the Court has done<br />
tremendously and has lived up to its<br />
statutory mandate in discharging its<br />
functions creditably.<br />
Chief Awomolo puts it thus, “The<br />
court has justified its existence, no<br />
doubt it has over the years produced<br />
very eminent jurists, some of whom<br />
ended their career in the Supreme<br />
Court, others retired as Justices of<br />
the Court of Appeal or Presidents of<br />
the Court of Appeal. To me, the Court<br />
of Appeal is desirable but it has to<br />
spread to a wider area because<br />
No doubt, the<br />
year 2020 had<br />
been eventful,<br />
not only in the<br />
history of<br />
Nigeria but the<br />
judiciary as<br />
well; especially<br />
the Court of<br />
Appeal with<br />
over 34,000<br />
pending appeals<br />
spread across its<br />
20 divisions<br />
litigation in 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006<br />
and now are never the same.<br />
Nigerians are getting more conscious<br />
of their legal rights and of course,<br />
people are now beginning to feel that<br />
it is better to test the decision of the<br />
High Courts in the Court of Appeal<br />
where three gentlemen of the learned<br />
profession will sit to consider the<br />
decision of one man.”<br />
In the opinion of Chief Pwul, “To<br />
give a run-down of the performance<br />
of the Court of Appeal, first of all, to<br />
get to 45, is a great achievement. I<br />
started practising in 1982, and my<br />
posting as a Youth Corps member was<br />
in the Court of Appeal, Kaduna<br />
Division. I would say the Court of<br />
Appeal has come a long way in terms<br />
of expansion, performance and<br />
impact on our legal system. When I<br />
joined the Court of Appeal, there were<br />
only three divisions of the Court.<br />
Today, we have Divisions in more than<br />
half of the 36 states of Nigeria. In<br />
bringing justice proximate to the<br />
people, it is on record that the number<br />
of appeals determined every single<br />
year by the Honourable Justices is<br />
an indication that they have<br />
performed amazingly in the past 45<br />
years.”<br />
Learned Silk, Chief Ikwueto in his<br />
contribution observed that, both the<br />
Trial Courts and the Courts below and<br />
even practitioners who come before<br />
the courts are encouraged to do their<br />
work because in all human<br />
endeavours there are chances of<br />
making mistakes. The great Jurist,<br />
Oputa averred, when he referred<br />
to the Supreme Court as not being<br />
infallible because as human<br />
beings they could make mistakes,<br />
but since ‘’we are final, we are<br />
infallible’’ Ikwueto remarks.<br />
Furthermore, Ikwueto is of the<br />
view that if there was no Court of<br />
Appeal, then the facts of the case<br />
at the Trial Courts won’t be tested,<br />
and if you were to have all these<br />
coming to the Supreme Court<br />
without an intermediary Appellate<br />
Court, obviously the situation<br />
would be very chaotic and ‘’I think<br />
that the Court of Appeal has lived<br />
up to its statutory mandate and it<br />
is worthwhile to have that<br />
appellate sieving platform<br />
whereby, judgements and<br />
decisions of the Trial Courts are<br />
tested again before they go to the<br />
Apex Court for final determination.<br />
The Court of Appeal indeed is a<br />
deserving intermediary between<br />
the Trial Courts and the Supreme<br />
Court.”<br />
Annual Justices<br />
conference 2020<br />
The use of information<br />
communication technology is<br />
considered one of the key elements<br />
to significantly improve the<br />
administration of justice. In the<br />
knowledge, the world has rapidly<br />
developed into a global village<br />
which has opened new<br />
opportunities that were<br />
unthinkable some years ago.<br />
Around the world, several<br />
reforms have been introduced to<br />
allow the use of enhanced<br />
electronic data and documents<br />
within the judicial systems. The<br />
availability of web services, the<br />
possibility of consulting online<br />
legislation, the use of electronic<br />
filing, electronic exchange of legal<br />
documents are spurring the<br />
judicial administration across the<br />
globe to rethink their functions<br />
and activities, enhance efficiency,<br />
access, timeliness, transparency<br />
and accountability that will help<br />
the judiciaries to provide adequate<br />
services.<br />
The imperative of adequate ICT<br />
infrastructure in the sustenance of<br />
a thriving judicial system cannot<br />
be overemphasised and this much,<br />
Joe Kyari Gadzama, SAN, shared<br />
his thoughts in a paper he<br />
presented recently that given the<br />
number of cases being filed in<br />
different courts, it is necessary to<br />
review the workload on the<br />
Judiciary. ‘’We do need to realize<br />
the fact that the human brain has<br />
its limitations; hence, the era and<br />
practice of our Justices writing in<br />
longhand needs to be dispensed<br />
with for good.”<br />
At a point when the world was<br />
almost shutting down as a result<br />
of the Covid-19 pandemic, was the<br />
period the 7th President of the<br />
COA, Justice Dongban-Mensem<br />
assumed office. The period came<br />
with opportunities and challenges<br />
however, the new President came<br />
prepared.<br />
From the different view points,<br />
Covid-19 engulfed the world with<br />
such a speed faster than the speed<br />
of light. Everyone became<br />
worried, scientists intensified<br />
research into the causes and<br />
possible vaccines to curb further<br />
spread and deaths.<br />
As the virus spread its tentacles,<br />
it posed concern to medical<br />
experts and world leaders since<br />
every hope of finding cure seemed<br />
bleak. Thus, the world shut-down<br />
to prevent further spread. The only<br />
option was to Wash Your Hands<br />
Frequently with Soap under a<br />
Running Water; Wear a Facemask;<br />
Use Hand Sanitizers where Soap<br />
and Water is Not Available and<br />
Maintain Social Distancing.<br />
This indeed changed how things<br />
were done. A world which thrived in<br />
trade and exchange of human<br />
resources now became completely<br />
locked down; forcing leaders and<br />
stakeholders to think deeply on how<br />
to sustain their economies to tally<br />
with human demands.<br />
Back home, President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari declared the<br />
shutdown of the Federal Capital<br />
Territory, Lagos and Ogun States on<br />
March 29, 2020, when it became<br />
obvious that the cases as well as<br />
death tolls were on the increase.<br />
The Nigerian Judiciary was not<br />
left in the limbo! The Chief Justice<br />
of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim<br />
Muhammad, Attorney-General of<br />
the Federation, Abubakar Malami,<br />
SAN and Head of Courts<br />
brainstormed on the way forward<br />
since the judiciary was a public<br />
institution where litigants, lawyers<br />
and Justices gather to adjudicate<br />
legal matters. Thus, Guidelines were<br />
rolled out on how the workforce<br />
would operate.<br />
The little things that we do can<br />
become powerful if we reinvent<br />
ourselves<br />
At the Court of Appeal, the Hon.<br />
President, Justice Dongban-<br />
Mensem brought the conversation<br />
to the front burner by engaging the<br />
services of virologists, Dr. Patrick<br />
Dakum, Chief Executive Officer,<br />
Institute of Human Virology and<br />
Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi, former<br />
Director-General, Nigeria Centre<br />
for Disease Control, NCDC, to<br />
parley with some Justices and<br />
senior Management Staff on<br />
veritable opportunities for reform<br />
in Court Processes through teleadjudication;<br />
imploring the use of<br />
zoom as a veritable platform to<br />
engage her brother Justices and<br />
Staff.<br />
Armed with this knowledge,<br />
Dongban-Mensem said that the<br />
COVID-19 pandemic was a wakeup<br />
call for the court as a professional<br />
organisation to have full grasp while<br />
complying with the lockdown<br />
directive; ‘’but considering that the<br />
court has to adjudicate on urgent,<br />
essential and time-bound matters<br />
we should not completely close our<br />
doors to the public.’’ For the first<br />
time in 45 years of the Court, she<br />
experimented the use of Zoom to<br />
hold meetings and conferences with<br />
Justices and Sectional Heads while<br />
beefing up the ICT Department with<br />
the required technology to ensure<br />
that Court of Appeal is at par with<br />
other Judiciaries across the globe.<br />
Fallout of her<br />
steady strides<br />
No doubt, the year 2020 had been<br />
eventful, not only in the history of<br />
Nigeria but the judiciary as well;<br />
especially the Court of Appeal with<br />
over 34,000 pending appeals spread<br />
across its 20 Divisions.<br />
Recall that all through the<br />
lockdown from March 25, to June<br />
30, 2020 Justice Dongban-<br />
Mensem confronted the fear that<br />
surrounded COVID-19 pandemic<br />
with faith to lead her colleagues by<br />
setting up Special Panels with the<br />
Justices drawn from all the<br />
Divisions. Special permits were<br />
obtained from the Police Force to<br />
cover their movements to<br />
expeditiously determine a total of<br />
1,356 appeals and 1,960 motions.<br />
More significantly was that a total<br />
of 528 Judgements (16.97% of the<br />
total number of Judgements) were<br />
delivered via the Zoom Online<br />
Platform during the course of the<br />
2020-2021 Legal Year while 10<br />
hearings were held by Panels of the<br />
Court using this platform.<br />
*Hafizu Isah is Chief<br />
Registrar, Court of Appeal