CJN warns against guidelines’ violation at court sittings

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, has warned against the resumption of court sittings without guidelines and protocols in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a circular on the website of the National Judicial Council, the CJN noted that the National Centre for Disease Control had made an announcement to the effect that the nation is at the community transmission phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, many judges and justices are in the high risk category in terms of age brackets, “resulting in many having an underlying condition that makes them more vulnerable to the virulent manifestation of the disease once infected.

“We cannot afford to put them (judges) and their families at risk by allowing a haphazard resumption of court without clear guidelines and protocols that will safeguard the health and wellbeing of the judges, lawyers, court staff as well as members of the public.”