Buhari proposes 12-month time limit for criminal cases

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Wednesday decried what he described as the “terribly slow pace” of justice administration in the Nigerian courts.

Buhari, who recalled how it took so long for the courts to decide and eventually dismiss the election petitions he filed to challenge his losses in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential polls, declared that the Nigeria justice system needed an urgent reform.

He suggested that the judiciary should put a 12-month time limit on the hearing of criminal cases from the high court to the Supreme Court, while all civil cases should be concluded within 15 months.

Buhari spoke at the 60th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, with the theme, ‘Stepping Forward’.

His speech was read at the virtual conference by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).

Speaking about his experience, Buhari recalled how “it took me two and a half years to fight for a four-year presidential mandate.”

He said, “At the end, I lost all three cases. I wondered then, why it needed to take so long to arrive at a verdict, and if I had won the case, someone who did not legitimately win the election would have been in office all that time.

“In 2019, I was no longer petitioner; I had now become a respondent in the case of Atiku and Buhari and the whole process took barely six months; just over six months. What was the difference? The law had changed since my own in 2003, 2007 and 2011. You had now introduced time limits for election petitions.

“Everything must be done within a six to eight-month period. My question then is why can’t we have time limit for criminal cases? Why can’t we have a rule that will say a criminal trial all the way to the Supreme Court must not exceed 12 months? And why can’t we do the same for civil cases even if we say that civil cases must not go beyond between 12 and 15 months? I think that for me is stepping forward.”

The President also complained about technical justice, saying, “If justice is to be seen to be done, then the outcome of cases must make sense to the average person and not just the lawyers.”

In his remarks, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, vowed that the judiciary under his watch would defend the rule of law and not tolerate disobedience to court orders.

In his remarks, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urged the NBA to show leadership in the country.

He said, “You are older than Nigeria; you are a big brother to Nigeria in terms of age, you are celebrating your 60th anniversary before Nigeria; so, you need to show Nigeria real leadership. You need to take your rightful position and drive this country.”

On his part, the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, who was represented by the state’s Attorney General, Prof. Zaccheus Adangor, urged the conference to have a robust deliberation on the issue of national identity.

Meanwhile, at the same event, a former deputy president of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, said the country might be heading towards authoritarianism and possible dictatorship if it failed to do away with Executive Order.

Ekweremadu, according to a statement by his media aide, Uche Anichukwu, on Wednesday, stated this in a paper he presented on ‘Executive Order and Democratic Governance’.

He cited Executive Orders 6 and 10 of the President Buhari administration as examples of overreaching executive orders.