The Supreme Court of Nigeria, as presently constituted, came under attack Friday by Mr Festus Keyamo, one of the 43 ministerial nominees currently being screened by the Senate.
Keyamo, who made the condemnation in his submissions before the Senate while being screened, said if made the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, he would unbundle the apex court into six regional divisions “for speedy consideration and dispensation of justice.”
This is as he blamed the police and magistrates for prison congestion by allegedly not adhering to the provisions of Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Keyamo, who made the submissions in response to questions, lamented that the case diary of the Supreme Court “as at now, is filled up to 2022 which will not allow it to entertain any new case apart from political and constitutional ones till after 2022.”
“If I am AGF, I have the idea I call the 3Ds that will be at the heart of judicial reforms: decongestion of supreme court, decongestion of prisons and decongestion of cases lists in courts.
“Nigerian Supreme Court is the busiest in the world. My first task will be to unbundle the supreme court; it is the busiest in the world and that is not acceptable. Some of the cases that go there are frivolous. This country is big enough to have six regional courts.”
