Nigeria’s vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has urged the need for speedy dispensation of Justice in the country.
The call was made by the VP during the opening of the Annual National Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association in Lagos.
Prof. Osinbajo expects to see judicial reforms that will fast track all court cases, so that the longest will be a maximum of 15 months.
“Reform is urgent because the fabric of our society is stitched together by our system of Justice and law enforcement.
“We cannot afford to have the stitches come undone. The first issue I would like to recommend for your consideration is the terribly slow pace of trials in our courts.
“My question then is why can’t we have timeliness on all our cases? Why can’t we put in place the rules that state that a criminal trial all the way to the Supreme Court must not exceed 12 months in duration?
“Why can’t we do the same for civil cases even if we say that civil cases must not go beyond 15 months – between 12 and 15 months? I think that for me will be stepping forward.”