A civil society organisation, Citizens’ Gavel, has called for the establishment of specialised courts for corporate, family, land, contracts, and labour-related disputes.
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The organisation said the move will ensure efficiency and quicker dispensation of justice.

Citizens’ Gavel legal associate, Sylvester Agih, in a statement on Friday, commended the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, for her recent remarks at the 3rd Annual National Judicial Council (NJC) Conference on Judges’ Performance Evaluation in Abuja.

Agih noted that the CJN’s candid acknowledgment of the alarming reduction in the number of cases disposed of by some judicial officers and her call for the swift and effective execution of judicial roles resonate deeply with our mission to uphold justice and protect the rights of all Nigerians.

The CJN had at the event said that “delayed justice is denied justice,” which she said reflects the frustrations of many citizens who are caught in a judicial system perceived as slow and inefficient.

The group argued that when judicial officers fail to deliver judgments promptly, it undermines public confidence in the judiciary and perpetuates a cycle of injustice that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable members of society.
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It said: “Another issue that plagues the judiciary is bribery and corruption. Citizens’ Gavel recently published a report titled “Assessing Perceptions of Corruption and Transparency in Nigeria’s Justice System,” revealing that 48.3% of professionals reported encountering corruption in the judiciary.

“This finding aligns with an earlier study by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which indicated that the judiciary (27.7 per cent) ranks behind the police (63.7 per cent) and power (49.1 per cent) in terms of the likelihood of demanding a bribe.

“Additionally, a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime identified judges as the primary recipients of cash bribes among public officials. These alarming findings underscore the urgent need for reforms within the judiciary to restore public trust and confidence in our legal system.

“In light of these trends, Citizens’ Gavel conducted qualitative research to gather citizens’ insights and recommendations on how the judiciary can be repositioned for greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility. “
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The organisation said its recommendations, which were contained in its letter to the CJN dated September 19, 2024, titled “Nigerians Co-Creating Justice,” were made by Nigerians from various backgrounds, including CEOs, experts, law professors, farmers, and lawyers.

It recommended the “Implementation of Case Management Systems, saying Judicial officers should employ effective case management techniques to streamline court processes and prioritise cases based on urgency and complexity.

“Adoption of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Encouraging the use of ADR mechanisms can help alleviate case backlogs by providing litigants with quicker and more efficient means of resolving disputes.

“Setting up specialised courts for corporate, family, land, contracts, and labour-related disputes will ensure efficiency and quicker dispensation of justice.

“The judiciary’s disciplinary processes should be transparent, prompt, and decisive. Reports on disciplinary investigations by the NJC should routinely be transmitted to law enforcement agencies for follow-up. Additionally, it is suggested that the Chief Justice should initiate public consultation leading within six months to an announcement of measures designed to address the escalating patterns of judicial corruption as documented by the UNODC-NBS Corruption in Nigeria Report 2024.”
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