A’Court conflicting decisions worry CJN

By Ibrahim Ramalan
Abuja

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed has expressed worry over alleged inconsistencies in the rulings of  the  nation’s courts, particularly on  election petitions.
His  worry stemmed from the spate of public complaints trailing contradicting decisions, specifically  by some divisions of the Court of Appeal, fearing that this might lead to the erosion of public confidence in the judiciary believed to be the last hope of the common man.
Justice Mohammed also called the attention of  Justices of the appellate court to a suggestion in 2008 by retired Justice Niki Tobi, also of the apex court that “immediately a decision is given in one division, it should be sent to the other divisions without delay.”

He therefore made a case for “an internal law report for Justices to access either electronically or in print in order to reduce the avenue for conflict in its jurisprudence.”
The jurist spoke last week in Abuja last week at the 2015 edition of the Annual Conference of the Court of Appeal.
As custodians of the law, the  CJN argued that judges, “must not only be just, but also convey certainty in our justness.”
“It bears reminding that the overriding objective of every legal system in the world is to do justice. However, this cannot be achieved where there is confusion as to the state of the law as pronounced by the court.
“As your lordships will agree, where an aggrieved person perceives, whether rightly or wrongly, that they will not receive justice, such a situation can indeed bode ill for the community in which he lives and can lead to acrimony and anarchy.
“We must not ignore the negative perception that is occasioned by conflicting judgments delivered at various divisions of the Court of Appeal.

“Such judicial contradictions only result in untold hardships to litigants in their quest for justice. They further cast your lordships in an unfavourable light and leave the judiciary at the mercy of inuendos, crass publications and editorials.”
While commending the justices for their positive contributions to the development of the nation’s justice delivery system, he singled out President of the court, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa for her constitution of the  election petitions tribunals notwithstanding the budgetary challenge.
“I must similarly commend your lordships for being instrumental in propelling the judiciary towards an improved system of administration of justice in Nigeria.

“With one justice of appeal to 1.8 million Nigerians, I dare say that your efforts at dispensing justice, despite frightening caseload, can best be described as extraordinary,” the CJN applauded.
In her remark,  Justice Bulkachuwa  described 2015  as very challenging for  the court because it was an election year.
She  further ruled out the possibility of the court embarking on fresh project this year in view of the new policy of zero budgeting, even as she  assured that the court would strive to complete all existing ones.
Bulkachuwa noted that the court’s annual justices conference, introduced by a former President of the court, Justice  Mustapha Akanbi, was intended to enable the court take stock of its activities for the year, identify challenges and seek solutions.