Court of Appeal at 45: Towards an Enhanced Judicial Prowess
Hafizu Isah Esq
“Look at the past, then you learn about the future.” – Chinese proverb
History
When the Federal Court of Appeal was established in 1976 following Decree (now Cap. C36 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004), the aim was to help lighten the burden of the Supreme Court. In other words, it came to serve as a bridge between the Lower Courts and the Apex Court.
Owing to the 31st December, 1983 Military Intervention and the promulgation of the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree, 1984 the name of the Court was changed from Federal Court of Appeal to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal was established as an Appellate Court to entertain:
• Civil or Criminal appeals from the Federal High Court, High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, High Courts of the 36 States, as well as National Industrial Court, Customary Courts of Appeal of States and the Federal Capital Territory, Sharia Courts of Appeal of States and the Federal Capital Territory.
• Election Petition Tribunal, Appeals from Martial Court, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Investments and Security Tribunals, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, and most recently, the Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) which was established on 28th June, 2018.
Growth
At the onset, the Court of Appeal started with three Judicial Divisions: Lagos, Kaduna, and Enugu. Lagos Division recorded its first criminal appeal on the 10th of March, 1977 between DURO AJAYI, BAMIDELE AJAYI and DARAMOLA DADA v THE STATE, brought before their Lordships Hon. Justices D.O. Ibekwe, Hon. J. Omo-Eboh, of blessed memory and Hon. D.O. Coker. On the 9th of May, 1977 in Kaduna Division, the first culpable homicide appeal involving ONOBERE SUNMONU v THE STATE was brought before their Lordships Hon. Justices late Mamman Nasir, late S.I. Ete and M.L. Uwais. The late Hon. Justice B.O. Kazeem sat with Hon. Justice D.G. Douglas and late M.M.A. Akanbi, at the Enugu Federal Court of Appeal Division on 12th May, 1977 to adjudicate its first criminal appeal that involved NWEKE UNUGU v THE STATE.
With the three operational Divisions, the need arose for expansion. As a result, in June, 1977, additional Divisions were established in Ibadan and Benin and in January, 1983, Jos Division came alive. This expansion continued in 1989 as Port Harcourt Division was established, and subsequently, Abuja Division came to light in 1996.
With increase in demand for services of the Court of Appeal, two Judicial Divisions sprang in Ilorin and Calabar in February, 1999 totalling 10 Judicial Divisions. 1999 to 2009 witnessed the establishment of six more Divisions namely: Owerri, Sokoto, Yola, Ekiti, Akure, and Makurdi, bringing the Divisions to 16. To further take justice delivery closer to the people, four Divisions: Asaba, Awka, Gombe and Kano, were added between 2014-2019. 45 years on, the Court of Appeal boasts of 20 Judicial Divisions, spread across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
As the second longest serving President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi, CON, the Walin Hausa puts it, “the Court of Appeal is where the decisions are made; the Supreme Court merely whitewashes it”; hence, the need for justice delivery to be taken seriously and closer to the people.
From the above perspective, the need beckoned to increase the number of Justices adjudicating in this Noble Temple from the initial 36 it started with, to 41 in 1990. Again, it rose to 50 in 1993 and to 70 in 2006. With the Court of Appeal Amendment Act of 2013,the number increased to 90. Currently, the Justices are 85 in number.
The Court has produced seven Presidents namely:
• The late Hon. Justice D.O. Ibekwe, CFR 1976 – 1978
• The late Hon. Justice Mamman Nasir, GCON 1978 – 1992
• The late Hon. Justice Mohammed Mustapha Akanbi, CFR 1992 – 1999
• Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi, CON 1999 – 2009
• Hon. Justice Isa Ayo Salami, OFR 2009 – 2012
• The Late Hon. Justice Dalhatu Adamu (in Acting capacity) 2012 – 2013
• Hon. Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, OFR, CFR 2014 – 2020
• Hon. Justice Monica Bolna-an Dongban-Mensem 2020 – to date
Sitting in the former Federal Capital of Nigeria, the Court was accommodated in the old Supreme Court Complex now Lagos Division. With the movement from Lagos to Abuja, the Court of Appeal is domiciled at the Area 3 office complex which now houses the National Industrial Court (NIC). It was during the tenure of the then President, Court of Appeal Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi, CON, that all hands were put on deck to build a befitting office complex, commissioned by the Ambassador of the Rule of Law and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, GCFR, on 15th December, 2008.
The Court of Appeal on top of history right now, is a melting pot where justice is justice without colour, section or place of origin, where all the Justices must sit together in a quorum to take decision in any matter devoid of sentiment. This is the reason some Senior Advocates of Nigeria have been speaking on the developments, as the Court turns 45 years old.
COA: A Confluence Where Justice Delivery meets with Information Technology
“A Justice without basic computer knowledge should not be appointed into the Appellate Court, against the backdrop that today’s Information Technology (IT) has completely taken over all human endeavours that there is hardly anything one can do without it.’’
– Chief Folake Solanke (first female SAN)
Annual Justices Conference 2020
The use of information communication technology is considered one of the key elements, to significantly improve the administration of justice. In the knowledge, the world has rapidly developed into a global village which has opened new opportunities that were unthinkable some years ago.
Around the world, several reforms have been introduced to allow the use of enhanced electronic data and documents within the judicial systems. The availability of web services, the possibility of consulting online legislation, the use of electronic filing, electronic exchange of legal documents are spurring the judicial administration across the globe to rethink their functions and activities, enhance efficiency, access, timeliness, transparency and accountability that will help the judiciaries to provide adequate services.
At a point when the world was almost shutting down as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, was the period the 7th President of the COA, Hon. Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem assumed office. The period came with opportunities and challenges; however, the new President came prepared.
From the different view points, Covid-19 engulfed the world with such a speed faster than the speed of light. Everyone became worried, scientists intensified research into the causes and possible vaccines to curb further spread and deaths.
The little things that we do can become powerful if we reinvent ourselves
At the Court of Appeal, the Hon. President, Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem brought the conversation to the front burner by engaging the services of virologists, Dr Patrick Dakum, Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Human Virology and Prof Abdulsalam Nasidi, former Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to parley with some Justices and Senior Management Staff, on veritable opportunities for reform in Court Processes through tele-adjudication; imploring the use of zoom as a veritable platform to engage her brother Justices and Staff.
Armed with this knowledge, Dongban-Mensem said that the Covid-19 pandemic was a wakeup call for the court, as a professional organisation to have full grasp while complying with the lockdown directive; “but considering that the court has to adjudicate on urgent, essential and time-bound matters we should not completely close our doors to the public”. For the first time in 45 years of the Court, she experimented the use of Zoom to hold meetings and conferences with Justices and Sectional Heads, while beefing up the ICT Department with the required technology to ensure that Court of Appeal is at par with other Judiciaries across the globe.
Fallout of Her Steady Strides
No doubt, the year 2020 had been eventful, not only in the history of Nigeria, but the Judiciary as well; especially the Court of Appeal with over 34,000 pending appeals spread across its 20 Divisions.
Recall that all through the lockdown from 25th March, to 30th June, 2020, Hon. Justice Dongban-Mensem confronted the fear that surrounded Covid-19 pandemic with faith to lead her colleagues, by setting up Special Panels with the Justices drawn from all the Divisions. Special permits were obtained from the Police Force to cover their movements to expeditiously determine a total of 1356 Appeals and 1960 Motions.
More significantly was that a total of 528 Judgements (16.97% of the total number of Judgements) were delivered via the Zoom Online Platform during the course of the 2020-2021 Legal Year, while 10 hearings were held by Panels of the Court using this platform.
The Panels at the Kaduna and Jos Divisions respectively, delivered six and five Judgements via the Zoom Platform, which was a first for the Court.
The Court has begun to redesign structures for internet bandwidth, throughout the 20 Divisions and Justices’ Residential Quarters. This pilot scheme has connected Divisions like Calabar, Kano and Asaba to the online network for optimal smarter justice delivery.
At the Court of Appeal Headquarters in Abuja, an IP telephony infrastructure has been set up to allow the use of an intercom system, which works with the computer network. The plan is to extend this to cover all other Divisions so that inter-divisional communications will soon be effortlessly conducted on intercom, thus, improving efficiency and productivity.
The Honourable President Court of Appeal harped on the need to move with the change, as one can never be too trained. In walking the talk, since assumption of office, she has, through the ICT and Training Departments continuously trained Justices and Staff based on their professional needs.
She hosted the maiden edition of a training collaboration between the Court of Appeal and the Ministry of Communications, where the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) trained 50 Justices on productivity tools to uplift the quality of justice delivery, with a view to reliving them of the old method of judgement writing and researches in longhand.
The ICT Committee of the Court has also been avidly involved in the provision of digital research tools: “We have begun a partnership with the Nigeria Weekly Law Reports (NWLR) to provide web access to their reports, thus, empowering our Justices to conduct easier online research. An active ICT culture will drastically reduce the incidence of conflicting judgements”, she disclosed.
To further tackle the issue of conflicting judgements, the Hon. President compiled some landmark pronouncements on Pre-Election Appeals/Judgements of the Court that sat in Abuja, Awka, Calabar and Kano Divisions, which was circulated to the Justices.
Hafizu Isah Esq, Chief Registrar, Court of Appeal
