The Court of Appeal has begun the new year with special sittings across the various Divisions of the Court.
In a special sitting in Enugu on Tuesday, the President of the Court of Appeal Hon. Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem CFR, welcomed learned Counsel to the new year noting that she is a daughter of the land having served in Enugu for two different periods 2003 and 2019 respectively.
His Lordship said that the purpose of the special sitting which should have taken place much earlier than now, was to decongest the Division.
Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem said “Having worked here, I know the volume of work in the Division, I know the weight of Enugu State to our great nation Nigeria. It is a commercial hub and I am happy that the Court has continued to run and will continue to run by the grace of God”.
His Lordship noted that there are 80 appeals listed to be heard and determined during the four days of special sitting.
Hoping that learned Counsel and parties will take advantage of this very special sitting to ensure that all the legal matters listed will be heard so that the Division can be decongested and allow things to improve.
“I know that Enugu is a very vibrant commercial center and we want to ensure that matters filled are timely determined so that business can flow seamlessly and people will feel the presence of justice close to home, you don’t have to go far an search.
“We will move quickly and I’ll appreciate that learned Counsel look at their files as I’ve always said.” She said
Wishing Counsel all the best, the President of the Court of Appeal said she is happy to be in Enugu and that a lot has changed since she was last in the state.
His Lordship also commended the Attorney General and his team for the good work and hoped the people appreciate his efforts. “…I am not a politician but I am affected by the conduct of politicians, and if you see good work you acknowledge it, I think I’ve seen some good development and I am proud that the key person’s running this State are lawyers. I am proud when our colleagues are in office and they are doing well and when they are in office and they are not doing well, we should not mince words to call them to order.”
The President of the Court recognized her brother justices Hon. Justice James G. Abundaga and Hon. Justice Abdul-Azeri Waziri noting that Justices were pulled from Divisions around Enugu and they will be sitting together because the Court has decided to enforce the conference process, which she noted wasn’t a new thing because when she was at the Enugu Division in 2003, they were doing strictly conferencing after sitting throughout the week.
But overtime she said, it became relaxed though the Court is enforcing it now, stating that the Chief Justice of Nigeria Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun GCFR has been emphasizing on it and therefore the justices have been grouped in a way that will enable them hold conference and address issues that may arise before the final judgement is pronounced.
The aim she said, is to reduce the alleged conflicting decisions because when she came into office, she took several steps to ensure that the incidents of conflicting decisions were reduced.
This she said, was further enforced by sitting together so that after the special court session, they go back to their different Divisions still together and comparing together and produce judgement that will stand the test of time.
In response, the Attorney General of Enugu State Kingsley Udeh, on behalf the the Governor and good people of Enugu State and the members of the Bar, wished the Justices of the Court of Appeal, a happy and prosperous new year 2025. Noting that their visit and holding of the special sitting of Court of Appeal, Nigeria, has began to have very positive impact not just in the legal landscape, but the generality of our society.
He said it will interest the Justices to note that the Court in the Enugu Division has not sat on Monday’s owing to security concerns. But with the visit of the Justices of the Court, first the President of the Court of Appeal Nigeria and her brother Justices from the various Divisions to Enugu, it has further strengthened the renewed confidence that is growing concerning the security, order and peace of the state.
Saying that he believes it has encouraged the Justices to sit on Monday. So for the first time in at least 4 years now, the Court sat on Monday which he said is the immediate impact of the visit of the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal and other Justices of the Court.
Another impact he said, is the decongestion of the Court’s docket and this are not just cases, they involve people, involve the government, they involve rights, claims and even justice of people and as it is said, justice delayed is justice denied.
Udeh added that this special sittings will certainly quicken the wheel of justice and justice will not only be done but will be dispensed with the various panels that will sit for the scheduled number of days.
Another advantage of the sitting he said, is that it will produce more decided cases and of course we know how important the decision of the Court of Appeal are to our jurisprudence, they are all reported, most of them reported so the decisions that will be reached from these special sittings of course would be reported in our law report for our learning for direction and of course for the legal development of our country.
“My lord let me also say that the aspiration of every lawyer in Nigeria is to attain the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and I know all the lawyers seated here have that aspiration and will require the decisions of the Court of Appeal to attain to that rank.
“So making this facility available this special sitting, has increased the opportunity we have to have more decisions of the Court of Appeal that we will use for application to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
“So my noble lord we are grateful, your coming is quite auspicious, you are a spiritual woman with your brother justices, with your coming the President also came we received the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Saturday it’s part of the renewed hope.
“Renewed hope in oneness and unity of our country and that we can have a country where we can call our own. That we will have safety and order.
“Have security for people to thrive in their various calling and businesses we are grateful my noble lord, your coming indeed has opened 2025 on a very good note and we believe that this will progress, this good opening will not only be for now, it will be the experience that my noble lords will have and every one seated will also have for year 2025.
It is on that note that we welcome you we welcome you with great gratitude and may the honorable court be pleased.
Commencing the hearing, the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal wished everyone a happy new year.
His Lordship went further to admonish Counsel to familiarize themselves with the Court of Appeal rules and ensure they familiarize themselves with their briefs before appearing before the Court.
She also enjoined them to always read the Court’s rules and make things easy for the court not difficult.