Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), promised to deal with senior lawyers condemning the judiciary and making social media commentaries of court matters that are sub judice on Wednesday.

Kekere-Ekun said this during the Senate screening exercise ahead of her confirmation as the CJN.

FIJ monitored the Senate hearing which was broadcast live by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). Lawmakers asked the CJN several questions bordering on delayed administration of justice and the inefficiencies in the judicial system, among others.

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Senate President Godswill Akpabio asked Justice Kekere-Ekun whether she would tolerate the practice of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) offering commentaries and analyses on cases that were sub judice during her tenure.

Court cases that are sub judice refer to matters that are under judicial consideration and, therefore, prohibited from public discussion elsewhere.

In response, the acting CJN said, “I want to assure you that as chairman of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), we will ensure that those who should be disciplined, those who are in the habit of speaking on social media, condemning the judiciary, commenting on cases that are sub judice, will not have anywhere to hide. They will be dealt with decisively.”

Kekere-Ekun said she would focus on leveraging information technology to tackle delays in the administration of justice and judicial inefficiencies.

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“I will push for all our courts to be digitised because that will solve a lot of problems. It will be easier to track cases, from filing to judgment. It will be easier to check the progress of cases,” Kekere-Ekun said.

“In the rules of court, many have obsolete provisions that delay rather than speed up the court processes. Virtual hearing will also be utilised in tackling delays in hearing.

“Apart from the digitisation of the judiciary, I will promote Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to decongest our courts.”

While answering a question on her stance on the change of interference with the appointment of judicial officers, Kekere-Ekun said, “We will ensure that this process is more rigorous, transparent and acceptable to the people.”