Some legal practitioners, in separate interviews in Ibadan on Friday, called for sustained improvement in judicial infrastructure, processes and systems to improve the sector in 2025.

A one-time Oyo State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Oluseun Abimbola, called for the establishment of operational protocols for registry operations and its enforcement with integrity.

“We cannot impose by court rules, sanctions on parties and lawyers for the delay in filings, etc., and there are no concurrent sanctions (administrative or otherwise) when the delay is from the court registry.

“This diminishes efficiency in the system,” said Mr Abimbola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Mr Abimbola called for improved training of court staff, discipline, and the need to revisit compartmentalising the roles of heads of court and the Judicial Service Commission to create efficiency.

According to him, while the judiciary has continued to strive for reform and better outcomes, the system remains hamstrung by institutional challenges.

He mentioned challenges of decaying infrastructure, ill-trained registry staff, lack of modern tools, inadequate judicial officers to preside over matters in many jurisdictions, and people problems.

“The challenges, once brought to the fore, should force a change in work culture and discipline in the system,” said the former attorney-general.

Ibrahim Lawal, Ibadan branch chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), said judiciary workers could only improve when the sector emphasised training and retraining.

Mr Lawal also urged the sector and governments to provide an enabling environment for the workers to do their jobs effectively.

The NBA boss also urged those connected with the administration of justice to perform their roles with sincerity and courage.

“The number of judges in contradiction of the number of cases in their dockets shows they performed above average.

“We hope that having appointed 10 more judges, the performance will improve in the new year,” Mr Lawal said.

Similarly, Mahmudat Yussuf, a legal practitioner, called for an enabling environment for the justice sector to thrive and meet the rising demand for the settlement of disputes.

Ms Yussuf also called for adequate provisions to transition from longhand writing by judges and magistrates to tech-enabled gadgets to record and transcribe proceedings to reduce the strain on them and enable productivity.

“There is still a need for improved service delivery and adequate notice of adjournment if the courts will not be sitting,” she said. “This will enable productivity and save time from travelling all the way for a matter that will not be going on.”

She identified effective dispute resolution mechanisms and access to justice as yardsticks to measure development in a society.

(NAN)