𝗥𝗘: “𝗣resident of the Court of Appeal leads special sitting in 𝗨yo to clear backlog of cases”

By Sylvester Udemezue

1. With due respect, wouldn’t this be seen by disinterested observers as evidence of POOR, UNPRAGMATIC leadership, on the part of the PCA?
2. Why would the PCA PERSONALLY “lead” special sittings to clear the backlog of cases? Does the PCA have to be there personally, for the right things to get done, if the right, pragmatic mechanisms were put in place?
3. Why are there backlog of cases in the first instance? Existence of backlog of cases is the first evidence of total failure of leadership on the part of the PCA. There shouldn’t be any backlog if the right and pragmatic measures were taken by the leaders of the judiciary! There is, only because leaders of the judiciary (including the PCA) are not doing their work at all but merely sleeping on duty, and waiting for retirement to collect billions in retirement benefits🤗👏👏 after ZERO impacts as leaders
4. The messy “backlog of cases” is a creation of an inept, clueless, focusless and unpragmatic leadership. So, leading a ‘special sitting” (i don’t even know what that stands for) is nothing commendable, with due respect.
5. Meanwhile, no special sitting can effectively lay off the backlog of cases at the Court of Appeal; special sitting may only help clear part of past backlogs while present backlogs continue building up to replace the being-cleared past backlogs, because the reasons for the existence of the backlogs (that is, the causes of the backlogs) have not been addressed.
6. If you refuse to address the causes of backlog of cases at the Court of Appeal, but would only, occasionally “lead” special sittings to “clear” existing backlogs, I respectfully do not think you are showing any example of true, pragmatic and purposeful leadership. Even the backlog you are trying to clear won’t be cleared because unless the causes are removed, the effects won’t cease. The only way to clear existing backlogs is to identify the causes of the backlogs and nip them in the bud.
7. Until then, all so-called special sittings to clear existing backlogs are only efforts in futility, because backlogs would keep piling up as you specially sit to clear existing backlogs, well, unless you bar people from filing bew appeals and cases at the Court of Appeal.
8. My respected Lord, sir, the Honourable President, does this mean you would be also in the following divisions to lead “special sittings to clear backlogs:” Kaduna, Kano, Enugu,, Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Ibadan, Akure, etc. How can you do that? Who would continue with the special sittings after you return to your office? And would you write judgments in the special sittings you lead outside your station? If not. would you lead special sittings, while another justice would step in to write the judgments when you leave?
9. Please, sir, enough of these fruitless quick fixes to serious problems. There is no short cut to anywhere worth going to!
10. My Lord, kindly return to your office in Abuja, put together a small committee to advise you on what you can do to make justice delivery at the Court of Appeal faster. You can do something, if you plan very well. Not by Rules Amendment. Noooo. But Legal reforms, structural reforms, ICT innovations, etc. You can yourself initiate the reforms. You can.
11. Sorry, my Lord, I’m just facing reality. One may succeed in avoiding reality, but one can’t succeed in evading the consequences of avoiding reality
    ◾To be continued.
    Respectfully,
    §¢µð𝓮̂𝓶𝓮̂𝔃µ𝓮̂
    Sylvester Udemezue (udems).
    Legal Practitioner, Law Teacher, and the Proctor of The Reality Ministry of Truth, Law and Justice (TRM) [A Nonaligned, Nonprofit Public Interest Law Advocacy Group]
    08021365545
    TheRealityMinister@Gmail.Com
    (08 March 2025)