FCT: 10,973 cases filed in FCT courts in 2015/16 legal year
NAN-H-3
Cases
By Edith Nwapi
Abuja, Oct. 25, 2016 (NAN) No fewer than 10,973 cases were filed in various FCT courts during the 2015/16 legal year, while 26,707 cases were brought forward.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice Ishaq Bello, at a ceremony to usher in the new legal year of 2016/17.
Bello said 6,961 cases were filled at the High Court levels, 5,931 at Magistrates’ Courts, while 81 were filed at the Abuja Multi Door Courthouse (AMDC).
“In total, 7,695 were disposed with while 9,252 pending, the Abuja Multi Door Courthouse dealt with 99 cases disposed 67.
“The prevailing situation as indicated by the numbers above is illustrative of the fact that we have all worked tirelessly in the year to ensure that expectations of the judiciary are met,’’ he said.
The chief judge also enjoined stakeholders to make use of the Abuja multi door courthouse for disputes and conflict resolution.
“I am still not satisfied however with the use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the Multi door courthouse.
“In this regard I call upon my brothers, lawyers and court users who are yet to appreciate and embrace ADR to please do so in view of the many advantages it offers including speed, reliability and cost effectiveness,’’ Bello said.
He said that their activities were open for all to see and the court proceedings could be accessed, for this serve as tools in objectively testing the effectiveness of the system.
“This breeds transparency and shows that we have nothing to hide.
“To further this objective we are embarking on partnerships and collaborations that will help us take a critical look at our operations through different eyes,’’ he said.
He further said that in the last legal year, three magistrates’ courts were commissioned at Zuba, Lugbe and Mpape to bring justice closer to those who needed it most.
Bello said that there were plans to open a judicial division at Nyanya/Karu axis, and that seven courts were renovated, while work on the High Court building at Jikwoyi was 70 per cent completed. (NAN)
NEO/MST/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola