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Reconsider Courts’ Annual Vacation, AJ Tells CJN, NJC
A non-governmental organization, Access to Justice (AJ) has called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to reconsider the vacation periods announced by various heads of courts in the country, and make new policies regulating the length of time those vacations should last in order to get the courts back to business in the earliest possible time.
In a statement by its Convener, Joseph Otteh, and Project Director, ‘Deji Ajare, Access to Justice recommended measures that can be adopted to ensure that cases do not suffer undue delay during the period of annual vacation.
The body advised heads of courts to make new policies regulating the length of time those vacations should last in order to get the courts back to business in the earliest possible time.
They also recommended that judges handling criminal cases should not partake in the general vacation but arrange their own individual vacations so that criminal trials can continue uninterrupted across Nigeria.
According to them, that way, persons being held in detention during their trials can expect their trials to go on to conclusion without much more delay.
The body also urged the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to ensure that there are vacation courts open in all of its judicial divisions, and not just in Lagos, the FCT and Port Harcourt, given that urgent matters can arise anywhere in the country.
Part of the statement read, “It is customary for courts to mainly shut down in the months of August and September each year to give Judges the opportunity to rest. During this period, only a few designated courts sit to adjudicate urgent matters.
“Access to Justice has, in the past, called for a reform of the judicial vacation system, so that courts’ businesses do not shut down en bloc, and allowing judges take individual vacations instead, in the way it is done in many other countries.
“Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria commenced their annual vacation on July 19, 2021, and will resume for the new 2021/2022 legal year in September. Judges of the Federal High Court commenced theirs from July 26, 2021, until September 17, 2021. The National Industrial Court of Nigeria also commenced its vacation from July 30, 2021, until September 27, 2021. The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Judges will commence their vacation on July 23, 2021, and will last till September 3, 2021. State Judiciaries are also announcing their individual vacations.
“Most of the announced vacations for federal courts range from a period of (nearly) 1.5months to just about two months.
“The current legal year has been marked by extraordinary disruption: the Covid-19 pandemic, the #EndSARS protests that saw many court buildings and records destroyed, and the JUSUN strikes that shuttered courts for a little over two months. In addition to the enforced closures, Judges also enjoyed, at least, four additional vacations – the Christmas, Easter as well as two Muslim vacations. When the various vacations are summed up, many courts would have been closed for business for up to three months. When the periods of disruption are added to this figure, some courts would have been closed for business for a period of more than five months during the legal year.
“The length of time various heads of courts have appropriated to shut down courts for vacation purposes is of great concern. It would mean, in some cases that courts would be effectively shut down for close to six months in the legal year. While the factors leading to the enforced closure of courts during the legal year were not primarily the making of the Judiciary, yet, the Judiciary must be conscious of the impact these developments have had on those who use or “patronize” the courts, and on the delivery of judicial services nationwide.
“Given this, the Judiciary ought to fixate more eagerly and conscientiously on how to clear the case backlogs that have accumulated over the months that courts could not sit, create a sense of burning urgency among judges for more spiritedness in resolving cases, and thus, placing the needs of court users – who are the courts’ customers – well above its own.
“Taking extended court vacations at this time, therefore, appears insensitive to the interests of court users who have already endured much suffering from the closure of courts for many months.
“Some court users are in correctional centres or other detention places, either waiting for courts to hear and decide on the legality of their detentions or awaiting the hearing and conclusion of their trials. Many others who have pending cases before courts may suffer irreparable injury with more delays in the resolving their disputes or getting court orders, without which some serious harm might befall them.
“We are persuaded that the Judiciary ought to give a better public image of itself, and offer a higher level of accountability to the public which it serves. Where the Judiciary ignores the broader needs and stakes of the court user community, and takes any length of vacation periods it chooses, only just because it can, it gives the impression that it is more interested in preserving the vocational privileges of its members than it is committed to the cause of justice and realizing the constitutional rights of citizens to a fair and reasonably speedy trial.
“Where court users feel this way, they further lose faith in courts as vehicles of justice and see the judicial branch as just another impassive, spiritless player in the business of governance. For a Judiciary that has been reeling under a considerable weight of negative public perception, this can be further alienating.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.