The Supreme Court of Nigeria recently decided a case filed in 1984 – Suit No. KDH/256/84 – by The Registered Trustees of Archdiocese of Kaduna of the Roman Catholic Church against Alhaji Mansur Ahmed, Mrs. Dorothy Ajijola, Kaduna Textiles Ltd and H. H. Holdings (The representatives of Debenture Holders and other contributors of Sacred Heart School, Kaduna). The dispute between the parties relates to and concerns the ownership and the right of control and management of Sacred Heart Primary School, Independence Way, Kaduna.

Judgment was delivered by the High Court of Justice, Kaduna State on 15th May, 1987 in favour of the Plaintiff. The Defendants/Appellants’ appeal to the Court of Appeal (CA/K/77/90) was dismissed on 23rd February, 2006. A further appeal to the Supreme Court (SC.365/2007) was dismissed on 11^th January, 2019 – reported thus – Ahmed & Ors v. The Registered Trustees of Archdiocese of Kaduna of the Roman Catholic Church [2019] 5 NWLR (Pt. 1665) 300. The Supreme Court’s Judgment was delivered 35 years after the suit commenced.

The delay in conclusively deciding cases in Nigeria has been a serious problem of the Judiciary. This has significantly caused much decline in the faith of the people in our justice system. A lot has been said concerning what the causes are.  The summary of the findings is that the courts, lawyers, the Government including the litigants all have a hand in the problem. In Eze v. The State (2018) LPELR-44887(CA), Bolaji-Yusuff, JCA said:

“Having strictly applied the law, I must register my strong disapproval of the delay in the trial of the appellant and delivery of the Judgment in this case. I have perused the record of proceedings of the trial Court and the Judgment. I cannot find any reason for the delay in the trial and delivery of the Judgment in this case. It seems the learned trial Judge is oblivious of the provisions of Section 294(6) of the Constitution or does not appreciate the grave consequences of failure to comply with those provisions of the Constitution. The delay in the trial and delivery of Judgment in this case which is a criminal case is totally inexcusable, embarrassing and unacceptable. In my view, everyone involved in the case, the Court, the Prosecution and the Defence recklessly abandoned their duty to justice and the accused person who had a murder charge hanging over his neck and had to deal with all the daily psychological trauma and torture of the uncertainty of his fate. Everyone involved in the administration of justice has a solemn duty not only to ensure that justice is done but also that it is done within a reasonable time. Not only is the accused entitled to know his fate within a reasonable time, the victim of the alleged crime is also entitled to justice. The victim’s family is also entitled to justice by giving them an early closure and not subjected them to an endless wait with all its attendant psychological trauma. An inordinate delay in a criminal trial may or may not have fatal legal consequence but it is certainly an unfair practice which must no longer be tolerated.”

While it must be admitted that the courts have embarked on certain reforms especially through a consistent review of the Rules of Court, this is yet to lay the matter to rest. For instance, the Federal High Court came up with a punitive measure in its current Practice Direction, making it mandatory for litigants to pay N1000 as penalty for every day of default in carrying out a specific task. The High Court of Lagos State followed suit as seen in its current 2019 Rules. The aim, in one breath, is to ensure that lawyers prosecute their cases diligently, while the Lagos State Government is also looking at generating more revenue. There is nothing so far significantly addressing the delay on the part of the courts.

Delay at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court is worse.

Indeed, the delay at the level of the trial courts, like the High Courts, is nothing compared to the level of delay at the appellate courts. The case of Ahmed filed in 1984 provides us with a perfect example. It took the High Court of Kaduna about 3 years to deliver Judgment in 1987. The Court of Appeal decided the appeal in 2006! The Supreme Court delivered Judgment in 2019!! Whoa!!! The Court of Appeal and Supreme Court had about 31 years of the total 35 years.

Now, a thorough check of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court data bases would certainly reveal an incredible number of cases languishing in the file rooms, waiting in the shelves for attention. As the fate of these files are hanging in the balance, so is the fate and nightmares of the litigants and business owners who are waiting on the courts. In criminal cases, some accused persons suffer much more than the full length of imprisonment while their cases are still on. Needless to mention the incredible number of those awaiting trial while living like the dead in our prisons. Nigerian prison is hell on earth. The situation there must reasonably rank as one of the worst afflictions of mankind. Inmates are terribly deformed and hardly ever reformed.

Something urgently needs to be done.

Something urgently needs to be done. The reform agenda must be radical. It is not also out of place to state that more hands are needed in the Judiciary. In Lagos, for instance, the Judges appear to be overworked, considering the number of cases filed each day. Why should we not have divisions of the Supreme Court like the Court of Appeal? For example, Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt Divisions. One significant solution that has proved successful in Lagos was the introduction of the Lagos Multi Door Courthouse (LMDC) and other mediation centres in Lagos. The LMDC has been a blessing to Lagosians as it provides an alternative to litigation and a source of effective amicable resolution of disputes. Some States have followed the lead. The introduction of the Small Claims Court which is one of the innovative achievements of the current Lagos Chief Judge has been helpful too.

A slow justice system is harmful. Justice delayed is justice denied. This cannot be over-emphasised. The speed at which election petition cases are decided is the same speed other cases should enjoy, even if not precisely at the same level. Litigants, other than politicians, must be wondering if their cases do not deserve meaningful attention. In a society where life expectancy is so low, why spend many part of it in court? In Alabi v. Doherty (2005) LPELR-6145 (CA), M.D. Mohammed JCA (as he then was) an interesting observation:

“An examination of the record of appeal readily reveals that the decision of the lower Court had evolved after a prolonged delay. It is scandalous to say the least that such a matter had taken almost twelve years to be determined. This is a justice service delivery, at the Court of trial, in a society where the average life expectancy has been put at 50 years. Neither party to the litigation nor the Court that resolved the conflict between these parties had come through clean in the disgraceful shortcoming.

By the way, in 2015, the Supreme Court reportedly decided an oil spill case involving Shell 32 years after the suit was filed.

Is there any case that has taken longer than 35 years of Ahmed’s case?