Appeal Court Delivers 7,295 Judgments, 3,665 Motions

President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, yesterday, said the court delivered 7,295 judgments and 3,665 motions in the 2022/2023 legal year. She made the disclosure at the commencement of the 2023/2024 new legal year.

The PCA added that 98 panels were constituted to hear 1,209 election petitions nationwide. Five of them were filed and concluded at the Presidential Election Petition Court, while some of 147 filed at the senatorial election tribunal have been delivered and 417 petitions from the House of Representatives are being attended to.

She also said 557 petitions associated with State Houses of Assembly and 83 gubernatorial complaints are being disposed of, adding that 28 states participated in the governorship elections, with petitions filed in 24.

Dongban-Mensem noted that the Abuja division of the court is currently overwhelmed and lacks adequate storage facilities and office space. She, therefore, appealed to the FCT Minister to provide a large piece of land for the construction of the Abuja division.

A former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi (SAN), stated that Nigeria’s continued survival largely depends on the transparency of judicial officers in the discharge of their duties.

Speaking on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), the ex-AGF acknowledged the contributions of judicial officers in the past years, which he said, have kept the country intact.

In his speech, the AGF and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), reassured that the President Bola Tinubu administration would address shortage of judges at the appellate and apex courts.