By Ikeazor Akaraiwe, SAN
A. Number and Appointment of Judges
i. Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.
ii. No Judge or Magistrate of a Federating Unit should have more than 100 [One Hundred] cases in the court’s docket at any given time.
iii. Make it constitutionally mandatory for new Judges [and Magistrates] to be appointed for a Federating Unit whenever more than a quarter of the Judges [OR Magistrates] in that Federating Unit have exceeded 100 [one hundred] cases in their respective dockets PROVIDED THAT all the Judges [OR Magistrates] in that Federating Unit must have met up with their respective quotas as set for them by the Judicial Council.
B. Supreme Courts for each Federating Unit
- The purpose of a Supreme Court for each Federating Unit is to deal with matters within the culture and peculiarities of the Federating Units.
- Appeals from Chieftaincy Matters, Land Matters, Customary Matters and Religious Matters should terminate a t the Regional Supreme Courts unless there is a constitutional matter arising therefrom the Federal Superior Court.
C. Federal Supreme Court for the Federation
- All appeals which do not terminate constitutionally at the Regional Supreme Court shall be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal and thereafter, to the Federal Supreme Court SUBJECT only to the
following. - Appeals to the Federal Supreme Court shall be BY JUDICIAL REVIEW ONLY specifically by Certiorari.
- The Federal Supreme Court shall decide what matters it wishes to hear. In other words, matters which have been settled by a long line of authorities will not be appealable, since the position of the Court is already known, UNLESS and UNTIL the party seeking to appeal shows to the court, by Motion, what new question which has not been settled or which can be distinguished from settled authorities
the party is bringing to the court. - All Constitutional matters shall be filed first at the Regional Supreme Courts and appeals on those constitutional matters shall go through the Federal Court of Appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.
- The Federal Supreme Court shall continue to exercise ORIGINAL JURISDICTION between Federating Units or between Federating Units and the Federal Government.
D. Federal Court of Appeal for the Federation
- To hear appeals to do with matters of Constitutional Interpretation, monetary, economic and every other matter except Chieftaincy, Customary, Land and Religious Matters (all of which shall terminate at the Regional Supreme Court), PROVIDED THAT such religious matters are not of a constitutional nature, in which case the Federal Court of Appeal shall be clothed with jurisdiction.
E. Ecclesiastical Courts
- Nigeria, being a secular country, all mention of ecclesiastical courts (Sharia Courts and the like) should be removed from the Federal Constitution.
- Appeals from all ecclesiastical courts shall terminate at the Supreme Courts of the Federating Units.
- The Laws of the Federating Units shall expressly provide for ecclesiastical courts.
- All references to religion and ecclesiastical courts should be provided for in the Regional Constitutions. We had Regional Constitutions in the First Republic of Nigeria. Thus, there shall be no reference to Sharia Court s and Grand Khadis or Church Courts and Reverend Judges.
- In their place shall be a single clause, permitting states / regions to set up their own courts, secular and ecclesiastical. Reference to Sharia and Islamic ecclesiastical courts occur more than 50 times in
the current Nigerian constitution thus creating a dual system.
F. Federal Judiciary to comprise of a Federal Supreme Court, a Federal Court of Appeal, and a Federal High Court. The National Industrial Court to have its jurisdiction collapsed into the Federal High Court to avoid a proliferation of courts.
The judiciaries of the Federating Units to comprise of High Courts, Magistrates Courts, and an y courts the Federating Units choose to create including Customary Courts, Sharia Courts, and Sharia Courts of Appeal.
