The proposed amendments would increase the number of Court of Appeal justices from 70 to 110 and Federal High Court judges from 70 to 90, introduce virtual proceedings, clarify judicial seniority and establish an alternative dispute resolution centre at the appellate court.
President Bola Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to consider far-reaching amendments to Nigeria's key judicial statutes aimed at tackling increased case backlogs, modernising court procedures and strengthening access to justice.
The requests, conveyed in separate letters read by the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen during Wednesday's plenary, seek to significantly increase the number of justices of the Court of Appeal from 70 to 110 and increase the number of judges of the Federal High Court from 70 to 90, while also introducing virtual hearings and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms at the appellate level.
The bill was earlier transmitted to the Senate on Tuesday before reaching the House.
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In the letter, Mr Tinubu said the proposed increase was necessitated by the growing volume and complexity of appeals across the country, which have placed immense pressure on the intermediate appellate court and contributed to prolonged delays in the resolution of cases.
The amendment bill also seeks to clarify the judicial structure of the Court of Appeal by restructuring provisions on composition, precedence and ranking. This includes clearer rules on the seniority of justices and the status of the president of the Court.
"The bill seeks to restructure provisions relating to the composition, precedence, and ranking of Justices of the Court of Appeal, including the ranking of the President of the Court and the determination of seniority among Justices," he said.
Mr Tinubu stressed that the bill further introduces provisions for virtual court proceedings, allowing the Court of Appeal to conduct hearings through electronic and audiovisual means.
The president also proposed the establishment of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) centre within the Court of Appeal. The move is aimed at encouraging the settlement of appropriate disputes outside full adversarial proceedings, thereby easing the court's workload and promoting faster resolution of cases.
According to Mr Tinubu, the amendments would update outdated terminology in the existing law, including references to virtual hearings and modern correctional nomenclature, while consolidating interpretative provisions to ensure clarity and consistency with the current legal framework.
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He noted that the expansion has become unavoidable due to the increasing workload at the Court of Appeal and is expected to reduce delays in the administration of justice, strengthen access to justice and promote public confidence in the judiciary.
In a separate but related legislative request, Mr Tinubu transmitted a bill seeking to amend the Federal High Court Act to increase the number of judges from 70 to 90.
Section 1(2) of the Federal High Court Act, Cap F12, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, originally provided for a maximum of 50 judges. That figure was increased to 70 by an amendment in 2005. However, the president said the court's responsibilities have since expanded significantly.
He noted that "The Court now bears a substantial and expanding responsibility for the prosecution of terrorism related offenses, transnational organised crimes and other matters touching directly on national security."
According to the president, increasing the number of judges would improve the judge-to-case ratio, accelerate adjudication and enhance the quality of judicial decisions.
He said it would also allow for greater judicial specialisation in technically demanding areas such as terrorism, financial crimes, taxation, intellectual property, maritime law and election-related litigation.
Mr Tinubu urged the House to consider and pass both bills expeditiously, describing them as critical to strengthening Nigeria's justice delivery system and responding effectively to emerging legal and security challenges.
