From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Court of Appeal (PCA) President, Monica Dongban-Mensem, has expressed the readiness and commitment of the court to justice delivery even in the face of daunting challenges.
Speaking at the retreat and annual conference of the appellate court and the launch of its Rules 2021, Dongban-Mensem noted that the administration of justice remains the primary focus of the court.
She, therefore, vowed that even in the face of incredible challenges and uncertainty, the Court of Appeal will rise to each and every occasion.
While reviewing the achievements of the court in the out-going legal year, the PCA disclosed the court disposed of 5,669 cases and 10,798 motions.
Similarly, despite a 51 percent increase in the number of motions filed during the period under review, she said the court witnessed a 48 percent increase in the number of motions disposed of by the panels as at November ending this year.
At the conference attended by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, Dongban-Mensem further revealed that as a result of the devastating effect of COVID-19, 528 judgments were delivered via the Zoom Online platform during the course of the 2020-2021 legal year.
She further explained that 10 hearings were also held by panels of the court using the forum while in the last two months, 40 judgments have been delivered via the Zoom platform.
“The administration of justice remains the primary focus of the court. As I stated during the legal year, the learned justices of the court, without exception, have worked incredibly to improve justice delivery this year.
“As a result, we have had a 26.47 percent reduction in the total volume of cases pending in our divisions, as compared with last year.
“Similarly, despite a 51 percent increase in the number of motions filed, we witnessed a 48 percent increase in the number of motions disposed of by the panels over the course of this legal year.
“In the face of incredible uncertainty such as the world has and is still experiencing, I am assure the court will rise to each and every challenge that will face us whether jurisprudentially or otherwise.
“We are committed to deepening the expeditious dispensation of justice and are not afraid to think out of the box in order to achieve it.
“This informs our pivot towards a technology-driven system of justice, following the precedent set by the CJN in the technological innovations introduced to the Supreme Court.
“That of course requires we amend our rules of practice in order to properly cater for this digital revolution.
The 2021-2022 legal year has begun with much greater confidence as we have had an infusion of 18 new justices to the Court of Appeal in the course of 2021.