Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), acknowledged on Wednesday that the Supreme Court is overburdened with numerous issues that it often has no business dealing with. She further noted that these cases cause delays in the apex court's work. According to her, many of these cases should end in the Court of Appeal so that the Supreme Court has more room to rule on more important cases, especially those involving policy. While being vetted for confirmation by the Senate in Abuja, Kekere-Ekun mentioned several issues, including "interlocutory injunctions" and "pre-election matters," which the CJN maintained should be resolved at the Court of Appeal.
Sen. Godswill Akpabio, the President of the Senate, oversaw the activity. The 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kekere-Ekun, who was selected as the second woman to the position, contended that the Supreme Court was constantly under pressure to conclude matters within 90 days. He observed that a significant portion of its time was spent sending a variety of cases to postpone its job, which made it more difficult for it to make crucial choices on important policy issues. The Supreme Court is a policy court that must make pronouncements on extremely unusual legal matters. She informed the senators, "I think a lot of cases, especially interlocutory matters, should end at the court of appeal."
"All other matters that are not policy matters should end at the court of appeals, including pre-election matters." Kekere-Ekun was not in favor of the idea of the Supreme Court's bench being expanded to accommodate more of these pointless cases. She clarified that despite this, people will continue to take advantage of the system since they thought there were more justices available to hear cases. She was adamant that the Supreme Court shouldn't hear a case that belongs elsewhere.
She advised politicians to follow due procedure during elections and play by the rules; according to the CJN, doing so will significantly reduce the number of pointless cases that reach the Supreme Court. Concerning corruption and the honesty of judges, the Chief Justice of Nigeria gave Nigerians her word that she would uphold discipline by making sure that dishonest judges were punished by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
"I'm renowned for my rigorous approach to discipline. I'll make sure the code of conduct is strictly followed, and I won't put up with any corruption. Kekere-Ekun further stated that the NJC would routinely evaluate judges' behavior as well as any other measures performed by judicial officers, such as promptly processing petitions that cast doubt on the officers' honesty. But the CJN recommended that the courts be "insulated from external influence" by the government taking fast care of judges' well-being to further safeguard the integrity of judicial officers.
She mentioned that President Bola Tinubu's recent decision to raise the pay and benefits of judicial personnel was one of these measures. But we also need to upgrade the working infrastructure that is currently in place. I'm going to keep advocating for improved judicial officials' well-being," she said. In addition, Kekere-Ekun expressed her position on several other matters, such as pending trials, overcrowding in detention facilities, temporary restraining orders, ex parte petitions, social media sway, and state governor meddling in legal proceedings. She pledged that during her term, these issues would be addressed to improve the prompt administration of justice.
The Senate confirmed the nominee's nomination as the CJN after screening her. President Tinubu had sent the Senate her name in a letter that Akpabio had read to lawmakers on Tuesday.
Afterward, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Honorable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, was confirmed by THE Senate.