Justice Conference Calls for FCT Court Modernisation
- October 23, 2024
- Posted by: Hub Admin
- Categories: Access to Justice, Justice Sector Reform, Latest News & Events
By Onyekachi Eke
Legal experts and stakeholders gathered this week at the 2nd Regional Conference on Administration of Criminal Justice, focusing on the role of technology in modernizing Nigeria’s criminal justice system. The three-day conference, held from October 21-23, 2024, was convened by Juritrust Centre for Socio-Legal Research and Documentation, with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
During a pivotal panel session chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Development Services at the University of Lagos, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, key findings were presented on the current state of case management in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) judiciary.
The Programme Officer for Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre, Nsikak Effiong, revealed concerning findings about case management practices in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) judiciary. The research highlighted a growing disparity between the increasing number of criminal trials and the pace of justice delivery.
According to Effiong’s analysis, the FCT judiciary currently operates on a hybrid system, with individual courts still relying heavily on manual processes while the Judicial Research Centre makes limited use of basic IT tools such as Microsoft Excel. This fragmented approach has led to significant inefficiencies in case management.
“The current system is struggling to keep pace with the volume of cases,” Effiong explained. “Our research aimed to identify key stages in criminal case management and evaluate current practices to develop targeted improvements.”
The study’s findings point to a pressing need for technological modernization within the FCT High Court system. Among the key recommendations is the implementation of an integrated, centralized case management system that would streamline court processes and improve coordination between different justice sector stakeholders.
The conference, themed “Leveraging Technology in the Criminal Justice System,” brought together legal practitioners, judiciary officials, and justice sector stakeholders to discuss innovative solutions for improving the efficiency of Nigeria’s criminal justice administration.
The research team emphasised that better collaboration among justice stakeholders, coupled with modern technological solutions, could significantly improve the speed and efficiency of criminal proceedings in the FCT judiciary.
These findings come at a crucial time as Nigeria’s justice system grapples with case backlogs and increasing demands for more efficient judicial processes.