The 3rd Annual National Conference on Judges’ Performance Evaluation opened on October 15–16, 2024, at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja. Hon. Justice K. M. O. Kekere-Ekun, GCON, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, gave the keynote address.
In order to preserve public confidence in the judiciary, the CJN stressed in her speech the necessity for judges to improve their performance and lower case backlogs. She expressed alarm about the 243,253 cases that were still pending in Nigeria’s superior courts of record, excluding the Supreme Court, as of the first quarter of 2024. 43,506 criminal cases and 199,747 civil cases made up this total.
To address this challenge, Justice Kekere-Ekun urged judges to embrace technology tools such as digital case management systems, virtual courtrooms, e-filing, and online research databases to improve efficiency. She also encouraged the use of alternative dispute resolution methods like mediation and arbitration to resolve cases more quickly.
The CJN highlighted the recent passage of the Judicial Officer Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) Act, 2024 as a positive step to promote judicial independence and performance. However, she called for reforms in how judicial performance is evaluated, arguing that the current system based mainly on number of contested cases disposed does not fully capture a judge’s productivity.
Justice Kekere-Ekun thanked the National Judicial Council’s Performance Evaluation Committee, chaired by Hon. Justice S. Bage Muhammed I, CFR, for their efforts and urged all judges to uphold the highest standards of integrity and excellence in their work. She declared the conference open and wished participants successful deliberations.
