The administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Rosaline Patricia Bozimo, has charged heads of courts in the country on the need to leverage information technology and global best practices in the conduct of business of the courts.
Bozimo equally reiterated the need for judges and heads of courts in administrative positions to be equipped with requisite administrative skills aimed at effective justice delivery.
The NJI administrator stated this on Thursday while delivering a welcome address at the virtual opening ceremony of the roundtable for heads of courts held at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), in Abuja.
The roundtable, which was the first –ever virtual version in the pandemic era, is themed: “Towards Effective Court Administration”.
In the address, Bozimo noted that even though the judiciary has experienced an exponential increase in the number and complexity of cases before them, it has been able to meet up with expectations through successive policy reforms aimed at curtailing delay in justice dispensation.
According to her, the institute has since inception continued to organize dynamic and relevant programmes in terms of seminars, workshops and courses.
“The desire to ensure that our criminal justice sector is at par with global best practices remains a task that all stakeholders must close ranks to tackle, as it is the desire of Nigerians that this hydra-headed monster of delay in criminal trials be controlled,” the administrator added.
In his own keynote address, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, SAN charged the courts to sustain public confidence reposed on the judiciary.
He implored all stakeholders to move in line with contemporary trends, saying the court cannot afford to be left behind.
CJN Muhammad observed further that despite challenges ranging from backlog of cases, delayed hearings, poor funding of the courts, which had been an uphill task in the administration of Nigerian courts, the sector has continued to make incremental progress in the course of playing its constitutional role.
“He said, “The climb to the achievement of effective court administration in Nigeria has just become a lot steeper and a little more daunting, but this challenge is not insurmountable,”
The CJN then charged all heads of courts on the need to be proactive in pursuit of the discovery and implementation of innovative ways of court administration.
