A legal practitioner, Opatola Victor, has hailed President Bola Tinubu for seeking to increase the number of Appeal Court Justices.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, Victor, however, said that this measure alone is not enough for the Nigerian judiciary.
He called for total independence of the judiciary, particularly its capacity to draw its budget directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
According to him, judicial independence is central to building public confidence and ensuring that people trust the system.
“Expanding the Appeal Court Justices is a welcome development. It will ensure that cases at the appellate level are quickly dispensed with, and justice itself, but that alone is not sufficient for the kind of judiciary we envisage.
“So we have to talk about the independence of the judiciary, the capacity of the judiciary to draw its own budget directly from the consolidated account, not waiting for politicians to give them handouts, build houses for them, or give them cash, which in itself threatens the independence of the judiciary.
“Now we have to talk about trust in the system. That is one of the things we have to start working on. We also have to discuss the capacity of the courts to deliver justice,” he said.
Increasing Appeal Court justices not enough for judiciary – Lawyer
