The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho has revealed that his court has 144, 910 pending cases to contend with in the new legal year.
The court in the last legal year had 15, 025 filed before it by litigants out of which 12, 870 were effectively disposed of leaving a balance of 2, 155 cases still on the ground.
At the opening of the 2023/2024 legal year of the court and its 50th-anniversary celebration in Abuja on Monday, the chief judge explained that the court had carried over 142,755 from the 2021 to 2022 legal year adding that in the 2023 legal year alone, 15, 025 fresh cases were filed by various categories of litigants.
He noted that the Court would be going into the new legal year with 144, 910 suits but expressed optimism that he and his brother Judges would rise up to the challenges of disposing of the cases as quickly as possible.
The breakdown of the carried-over cases showed that 42, 784 are civil cases, 36, 061 criminal matters, 41, 447 are motions 24, and 618 are fundamental rights enforcement suits.
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Justice Tsoho, who put the current number of judges on the bench of the court at 95, thanked them for the speedy conclusion of pre-election cases of the 2023 general elections which he said were handled within the time allowed by law.
He, however, tasked them to stand steadfast and continue to dispense justice without fear or favour adding that their being Judges is by destiny and not accident.
While reminding the judges that their actions would shape the destiny of the court and the Nigerian nation, the chief judge asked them to strive to be beyond suspicion.
“We must dispense justice with integrity and without bias, we must display utmost competence and courage as well as dispose of cases speedily,” he said. He thanked the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola for his humility and ready disposition to proffer solutions to challenges.
He also thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Judicial Council (NJC) for their unyielding support and understanding and assured that the court would perform better in the new legal year.
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