The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf, revealed on Monday that both high courts and magistrates courts in the Territory received a total of 13,306 new cases in the 2022–2023 legal year, while they determined 11,621 matters before them in the same year.
Baba-Yisuf made the revelation at the official opening of the FCT 2023–2024 legal year, asserting that the performance of the courts was very good.
According to the CJ, a total of 12,513 cases were brought forward from the 2021–2022 legal year to the 2022–2023 year, which began on October 17, 2022. These, he said, were comprised of both civil and criminal matters.
“The performance of the Federal Capital Territory High Court as a whole for the years 2022–2023 was very good. I applaud the honourable judges and magistrates for the good work done.
“For the records, the FCT High Court officially declared the 2022–2023 legal year on Monday, October 17, 2022. It brought forward a total number of 12,513 cases, encompassing both civil and criminal matters from the preceding 2021–2022 legal year.
“Similarly, the Magistrate Court had 5,629 cases carried forward from the previous legal year.
“Moving on to the 2022/2023 legal year, the FCT High Court assigned 5,952 new cases, consisting of both civil and criminal matters, while the Magistrate Court received 7,354 filings, also encompassing both civil and criminal cases.
“In the course of the year, the FCT High Court successfully determined 4,293 cases, consisting of both civil and criminal matters, resulting in an impressive overall completion rate of 72.4%.
“The Magistrate Courts successfully determined 7,328 cases, encompassing both civil and criminal cases, and thereby achieving an outstanding completion rate of 99.6%,” Justice Baba-Yusuf informed.
He, however, stated that there were a total of 13,996 pending cases, civil and criminal, before the Magistrate Court in the Territory from the 2022–2023 legal year.
While assuring that the judiciary in FCT will continue to perform its primary duties of hearing cases in different parts of the Territory, the CJ said the quest for a judiciary in which world-class justice prevailed remained and would be pursued with vigour.
He informed me that the FCT judiciary was tasked with the responsibility of making independent and impartial decisions on disputes brought before it for resolution with a view to serving the overall interest of justice.
“Our goal is to uphold the principles of openness, transparency, and accessibility in administering justice.
“Our essential task is to make independent and impartial decisions on disputes brought before us for resolution and to serve the overall interest of justice,” the CJ said.
He, however, solicited the public’s understanding of the decisions taken by the judiciary, saying that “it is hard to have faith in a system if you do not understand how it works.
“This is why I believe it is so important for people to see with demonstrable clarity how the justice system works.”
Also speaking at the event, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, described the judiciary as a pillar of democracy, adding that strong democracy and democratic culture are pillars of development.
The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Adesola Olusola, said while the FCTA was embarking on reforms to make the FCT a world-class city, the judiciary in the Territory had roles to play in ensuring the success of the reforms.
Heathen assured that the FCTA would continue to stand behind the FCT judiciary with a view to ensuring that it carries out its constitutionally mandated functions very well.
