Lagos — Recently, there was a transition in the office of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (FHC) from Justice Abdullahi Mustapha to Justice Dan Abutu. Mustapha retired from service after he attained the mandatory 65 years of age as a condition for retirement of judges of the Federal High Court.

The new CJ was recently sworn-in after he was cleared by the Senate. Many believe that Abutu was assuming the position of the Chief Judge of the court at a time that the image and reputation of the court is at its lowest ebb. Apart from litigants and lawyers who constantly complain of the way and manner their cases are being handled, others say the court under the pretext of technicalities and fair hearing, deliberately shields corrupt officials from prosecution.

As he settles down in office, litigants and lawyers, believe that there are a lot of areas he has to carefully look into if the Federal High Court must move forward.

For instance, a cursory look at some recent cause list of the Federal High Court in Lagos shows cases which were instituted over seven and eight years ago, but are still at the preliminary stages. This, according to many analysts, is one of the challenges facing the judiciary in Nigeria today. In most cases, most of these cases are stalled by frivolous applications mostly by the defendants in the suit. If it is not application challenging the jurisdiction of the court, it is that of stay of proceedings or one interlocutory application or the other. In some cases, it could even be an outright petition or complaint for the case to be transferred from a particular judge or court. All these are allegedly aimed at delaying or frustrating justice delivery and giving the Nigerians judicial system a bad image and reputation.

Added to all these, perhaps is the problem of inadequate judges to handled the plethora of cases pending before the court and the lackadaisical attitude of some of the judges presiding over cases. While some judges deliberately absent themselves from courts without excuse or prior notification, others are in the habit of coming late to court. There have been instances where litigants come from Abuja, Enugu, Benin, Port Harcourt and other far places only to be told that a presiding judge is not going to sit for the day. All these added to recording proceedings are said to contribute to the frustration of justice delivery.

Recently, an eminent jurist, Justice Chukwufudi Oputa, identified delay and expense as twin weaknesses of the country's justice system. Justice Oputa said: "The administration of justice in our courts suffers from two major constraints, namely: delay and expense. If it takes seven to ten years to decide a case, prospective litigants may decide not to go to court at all. But one thing that frightens people away from the court is the inordinate expense which has to be incurred with the result that a very large proportion of our countrymen are as it were, prices out of our legal system."

Speaking at the first year anniversary of the late Chief Adebowale Durojaiye Joseph Akande (SAN) recently, a Professor of Law and former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, Prof. Yemi Osibajo (SAN), described justice in contemporary Nigeria as an eyesore, especially the delay tactics employed by members of the bar to stall trials. Osinbajo, identified frivolous applications and unnecessary adjournments as methods adopted by lawyers to delay justice.

He said: "Every counsel knows that to hold a case in abeyance forever only requires a preliminary objection on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. No matter how tenuous the ground, it is unlikely that the trial judge will not be persuaded to stay proceeding, once ruling is challenged on appeal.

"Once that happens, the trial has essentially ended. It may take another three years for the case to come up for trial, but may not be adjudicated upon as a mischievous counsel may be waiting with another interlocutory challenge," he said.

Osibajo explained that the consequence of the slow pace of time in delivering judgement, which he described as pathetic, was what the society has come to view as justice. He further said the slow pace of trial has led to the loss of faith in the judicial system and simultaneously made a mockery of the system which is widely perceived as the last hope of the common man.

In a recent article, Mr. Stanley Ibe, a research fellow with the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS), said one factor that investors consider when rating a country is whether they will have access to suitable mechanism by which to resolve disputes. According to him, a stable legal framework is one of the key factors that drive economic activities.

"Few investors will be keen to invest in any country or even to extend the scope of their existing investments without reasonable guarantees not only that their fundamental rights and freedom will be respected at all times, but also that the law will be correctly and effectively applied in cases of dispute or other differences.

"It is no secret that public officials often commit abuses of executive power. Thus it is the role of the justice sector to protect individuals against such abuses. Without such protection, it can be assumed that most investors will, as new opportunities arise, exercise the right to seek other more investor-friendly jurisdictions to invest in," he said.

Another critical area the new CJ is expected to focus on is the allegation that judges inadvertently shield officials charged for corruption from prosecution. It is no longer a secret that corruption is the greatest problem confronting the nation today. Because of the perception that the malaise is the bane of the country, the issue keeps recurring at every public and private fora, academic and informal discourse without solutions. Many agree that the menace has become endemic and eaten very deep into our national psyche. For this reason, observers especially those who seek a change for a better country have been calling especially on the Bench especially judges of the Federal High Court handling high profile corruption-related cases to emulate Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole of an Ikeja High Court who recently convicted the former Deputy National Chairman (South) of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George and five other former officers of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) for corruption.

They have even been using the opportunity to renew the call on the judiciary to take up the gauntlet and be courageous in the fight against graft. They contended that the fight against the menace must be tough and total adding that those leading the crusade against the cabal that indulges in this malady must be strong-willed and serious people. There also been instances of cases where those arraigned will constantly use frivolous applications to frustrate their cases from making progress to avoid conviction. In all of these, judges are said to be aware of these tactics but do nothing to stop the then.

Analysts have often argued that there is a general lack of efficiency and effectiveness in the Nigerian judiciary to deal with complex and time-consuming proceedings, which are said to be the norms in major corruption cases. Observers have submitted that the inability to deal with corruption inside the judiciary and the need to strengthen its integrity are an integral part of the overall corruption problem.

Despite the increasing rates of arrests and trial of politicians and government officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the alleged manipulations to frustrate their trial for corruption and money laundering are visible.

Since Mrs. Farida Waziri came on board as the Chairman of the EFCC, high profile arrests of top politicians, captains of industries, directors-general of federal institutions, bank chiefs and other high players in the corridors of power have been made by the commission. It has demonstrated undeterred push in the prosecution of those cases currently going on in various Federal High Courts across the country.

Besides, the ex-governors' cases still pending in several courts, the EFCC is also in court in cases against Femi Fani Kayode, former Aviation Minister, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Professor Adenike Grange, former Minister of Health, Kenny Martins, former boss of the Nigerian Police Equipment Fund and a card carrying member of the PDP, Professor Babalola Borishade, former Aviation Minister, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Chief Gabriel Aduku, former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Chief Gabriel Aduku, former Minister for state Health.

Others on trial are Ibrahim Dumuje and Yaro Gella, both members of the Police Equipment Fund, George Eider, Austrian contractor in the Safe Tower Projects handling four international airports project in the country, Roland Iyayi, Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ransome Owan Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Abimbola Daris, ex ABN Chieftain and Managing Director of Olusegun Obasanjo Centre for organic Research and Development, Chairman of Taraba State Civil Service Commission, (CSC), former Comptroller General of the Nigerian Custom Service,

Also being prosecuted are Senator Nicholas Ugbane, Dr. Aliyu Abdullahi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power Emeka Ohaghena, Contractor, Mr. Sam Gakpe, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, Chairman of the House of Representative Committee on Power, Thomas Iseghohi, the Group Managing Director of Trasncorp and three officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and Mr. Alexander Cozman, foreign contractor of the UBEC, seven six former bank chiefs and their directors, amongst other cases currently at different Federal High Courts with a dearth of conviction.

Ironically, the same Justice Abutu who faulted Waziri's request for the establishment of a special court, is currently handling the cases involving the bank chiefs who were recently arraigned by the anti-graft commission. It is against this backdrop that many Nigerians watch out for how he will eventually handle the cases