The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf, on Monday, bemoaned the lack of courtrooms for Magistrates to conduct cases within Abuja and its environs.
The CJ, who spoke at an event the court held to mark the opening of its 2023/2024 legal year, decried that “currently, some of our Magistrates are sharing court rooms.”
According to him, “the Judiciary has both a legal and moral obligation to provide quality service to the public as provided by various constitutional provisions.
“This, in a way, enhances and engenders confidence in the courts and respect for the decisions coming out of them.”
He stressed that despite the fact that the FCT High Court has a total complement of 58 judges, yet, “the courts are being overstretched to its fullest elastic capacity in terms of caseload.”
“Of course, when courts are overloaded with cases, it can lead to several challenges, including delays in the legal process and potential strain on the judicial system.
“Creatively, the FCT High Court is adopting various means to address the situation.
“These include, amongst others, implementing efficient case management systems to streamline proceedings, including using e-filing to enhance efficiency; prioritizing old cases and urgent matters; encouraging parties to resolve disputes through mediation or arbitration, and settling cases through plea bargain mechanisms.
We are also in the process of reviewing our Civil Procedure Rules to make for faster and less cumbersome adjudication processes.
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