Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BoSAN), yesterday, advocated the establishment of constitutional court with the aim of decongesting the regular courts in the country.
The senior lawyers noted that if established, the constitutional court will effectively handle pre and post election cases, leaving the regular courts to adjudicate on civil and criminal cases. Representative of the body, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), made the proposal at the valedictory court session held in honour of retired Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu Kafarati.
Awomolo, regretted that the earlier proposal for the court, was turned down due to lack of foresight.
He said the call for the establishment of constitutional courts must be revisited and reintegrated into the constitution of the country in compliance with Section 250.
According to Awomolo, all political matters, including pre and post election matters and election petitions will effectively handled by the court, while all appeals from the court will terminate in the Court of Appeal.
The senior lawyer said that each state of the federation shall have her own Court of Appeal and that only constitutional matters will go to the Supreme Court.
Awomolo, recalled the revelation by the Federal High Court that over 16, 000 cases were carried over from 2019 to 2019 legal year with many of the cases filed over four years ago, adding that the trend must not be allowed any longer because it can lead to denial of justice.