The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has affirmed the federal government’s commitment to ending the issue of conflicting court judgments that has long plagued the judiciary.
He emphasized that the ongoing reforms within the justice system, led by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aim to foster economic growth and create a more efficient legal environment.
Speaking in Ilorin on Tuesday, Fagbemi made the remarks at the start of a three-day conference organized by the Ministry of Justice, with support from the European Union-funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC II) programme of the International IDEA.
The conference brought together members of the Network of Justice Sector Reform Teams (JSRTs).
Fagbemi described judicial reforms as a core component of the administration’s developmental agenda, aimed at improving the justice sector’s integrity and functionality.
He acknowledged that conflicting court rulings had been a persistent issue but assured that this problem is being effectively addressed.
“These recurring issues have significantly reduced recently, thanks to ongoing efforts to tackle their root causes,” Fagbemi said, adding that the real challenge lay in addressing fundamental causes rather than simply treating the symptoms.
The Minister attributed the problem of conflicting judgments to several factors, including ambiguous legal terminology, the overzealousness of some litigants, and the unethical practices of certain lawyers who deliberately fail to disclose prior rulings on the same case.
He highlighted that such practices are punishable in many jurisdictions, including Western countries.
Fagbemi praised the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for his readiness to work towards eliminating these conflicts.
He also noted that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was on board with the initiative.
“We are all committed to bringing an end to this problem,” he said.
He added that the judiciary had set up a panel to prevent future occurrences, including integrating technology that would allow courts to access the most recent judgments on any given case nationwide.
Under the new system, any case that has been previously filed especially if it was against the lawyer bringing it, will be dismissed if the lawyer fails to inform the court.
On the recent controversy surrounding the trial of minors, which had attracted widespread criticism, Fagbemi reiterated that the police acted within the law in bringing the minors before the Federal High Court.
“The police have not made any errors in this case, contrary to public opinion. We intervened to ensure fairness, even though the case was held on a Saturday.”
