Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Kazeem Alogba; former Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN; Dr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, and other stakeholders, yesterday, proposed measures to reform the Supreme Court.
They made the proposals at a public presentation of a book titled ‘The Supreme Court of Nigeria: History, Establishment, Jurists and Speeches’, co-authored by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro, SAN. Mr. Pedro wrote the book together with a Notary Public, Abdulrasheed Ibrahim.
S-Court must embrace tech, evolving norms— Sanwo-Olu.
In his opening remarks, Governor Sanwo-Olu who was represented by the Secretary to State Government, Mrs Bimbo Salu-Hudeyin commended the Attorney-General for writing the book stating that there is an urgent need for introspect on the past role and evolution of the Supreme Court.
He said: “The judiciary and especially the Supreme Court hold a sacred trust in ensuring that justice prevails irrespective of social status or circumstance. Its decisions echo through the canvass of our nation’s history shaping a society that we aspire to leave.
“However as we embark on this journey of introspection and assessment, we must acknowledge the ever evolving nature of our society and the complexities that lie ahead. The future of the Supreme Court necessitates not just the preservation of its esteemed tradition but an embrace of innovation, adaptability and inclusivity.
“The Supreme Court must remain steadfast in its commitment to dispense justice while embracing the advancement in technology, evolving societal norms and the ever expanding frontier of the law.
Lagos CJ to judges: Don’t kill yourself on the job.
Also speaking, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Alogba, advised judges not to die on the job but retire if they can no longer do well on the bench.
His words: “When it comes to ‘until death do you and the service part’, I do not agree. You must assess yourself when you are tired; do not wait; please go home and rest.
“There is nothing you want to do again which you could not have done on the bench before you got to the stage of being tired, if you are really interested in the work. You do not need to die and have a valedictory for you, so retire if you are no longer in good health.”
S-Court should be for best legal minds—Olanipekun
Earlier in his opening remarks, Chief Olanipekun, SAN, advocated that the Supreme Court should be a melting point for the brightest minds in the legal profession and not just the exclusive reserve of the bench. He said: “When you look at our constitution, the Supreme Court should be the melting point of all our best legal practitioners. Senior advocates and non-senior advocates, Judges of the High Court should go there. So many prominent lawyers went there. But we are having a not too healthy situation there now. A searchlight should be beamed on people who should go to that place.”
States should have own S-Courts— Pinheiro
The Guest lecturer, Dr Pinheiro, who spoke on the topic ‘Supreme Court: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,’ said there is no reason why each state of the country should not have their own Supreme Court as it is practiced in the United States of America and other foreign nations.
He said: “It is about time states start having Supreme Courts if we are serious about federalism. There is no reason the states cannot have their supreme courts. There are certain cases that should not end up in the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“For instance, why would matrimonial matters, customary law cases end up in the Supreme Court? Why would you, for instance, tell a Supreme Court judge who is from Zamfara State to take a decision in relation to customary law that has to do with Ebonyi State law ?It does not make sense.”
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the book co-author Mr Pedro, SAN, said that the book provided an insight into the establishment and composition of the Supreme Court.
He said: “With rigorous efforts and research embarked upon by myself and my learned friend Abdulrasheed, we were able to bring together 48 valedictory speeches of our retired justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. This includes those who are dead and alive. The valedictory speeches give room to learn a lot from the experiences of the retired justices of the apex court.”
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