Judges And Judgements

In deserving cases and circumstances one judge may read the judgement written by another judge of the same court who is unavoidably not available to deliver the said judgement. See Rasaki Yunusa V. Madam Suwebatu Otun (1967) LLR. However, this statement of law applies only upon fulfillment of certain conditions. The conditions where a judge of a High Court can read the judgement of another judge are as stated in the case of WULGE V. OLAYINKA & ORS (2017). 43356 (CA) Per Abiru, JCA thus: “It is settled law that in deserving circumstances; there is nothing wrong with one judge reading the judgement written by a fellow judge of the same court who is unavoidably not available to deliver it ……..”
Case law authorities however suggest that this ability of a judge to read the judgement written by another judge who is unavoidably absent last only as long as the judge who wrote the judgement remained in service of the same court and that where the absence of the judge is by reason of elevation to a higher bench, death, dismissal or retirement. It will be incompetent for a judge to read the judgement written by the absent judge from the date of the occurrence of the event causing the absence. See Edibi V. The State (2009) L PELLR – 8702 (CA), Attorney General of the Federation V. All Nigeria Peoples Party (2003) 15 NWLR (Pt 844) 600; IPC (Nig) Ltd V. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (2015) LPELR – 24652 (CA).
The only exception to this position of the law appears to be that created by the provision of section 294 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) in respect of the judgements of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal only. Section 294 (2) promotes that “each justice of the Supreme Court or of the Court of Appeal shall express and deliver his opinion in writing or may state in writing that he adopts the opinion of any other justice who deliver a written opinion; Provided that it shall not be necessary for all the justice who heard a cause or matter to be present when judgement is to be delivered and the opinion of a justice may be pronounced or read by any other justice whether or not he was present at the hearing.”
Therefore, with respect to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, a written opinion or judgement written by one member of panel can be read by either another member of panel who participated in the hearing of the appeal or any other justice of the court. See Shittabey v. Attorney General of the Federation (1998) 10 NWLR (Pt. 570) 392. Note that this does not apply to the judge of the High Court. In Shua’ Ibu V. The State (2019) LPELR- 46688 (CA) Karuta J. read the judgement purportedly written and signed by Hon. Justice Mairaga who as at the time the judgement was read has ceased to be a judicial officer, having been retired as the chief judge of Kebbi State. And had no vires to write or sign any judgement. Also the court noted that Karatu J. who read the judgement was a complete stranger to the case and lacked competence to write a judgement based on the recorded evidence of witnesses by a different judge.
In Sokoto State Government V. Kamdex (Nig) Ltd (2007) LPELR – 3093 (SC) the Supreme Court held that “a judicial officer who had not sat in court in that capacity to exercise the jurisdiction of the court in hearing a matter cannot have the capacity in law to sit in court and write a judgement or opinion to determine a dispute which he did not participate in the hearing.

Nkechi Bright Ewere