President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to approve a significant expansion of Nigeria’s appellate and trial courts, proposing the appointment of 200 additional judges to the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court.
The request, transmitted through two separate amendment bills and read at plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio as lawmakers resumed from the Christmas and New Year recess, is aimed at strengthening judicial capacity and addressing the mounting caseloads occasioned by complex security and economic challenges.
Specifically, the president seeks to amend the Court of Appeal Act, 2004 to increase the number of justices from 70 to 110. In addition, he has proposed an amendment to the Federal High Court Act, 2004, raising the number of judges from 70 to 90.
Tinubu explained that the expansion is necessitated by the growing workload of the courts and the emergence of specialised areas of litigation, including terrorism, taxation, and other evolving aspects of federal jurisdiction.
For the Court of Appeal, the proposed amendment goes beyond manpower expansion. It introduces provisions for electronic and visual transmission of proceedings and updates operational terminologies to align with modern judicial practices.
On the Federal High Court, Tinubu noted that the current number of judges is inadequate to cope with the increasing volume and complexity of cases. Established with 50 judges and later expanded to 70 in 2009, the court now faces additional demands arising from governance, security, and economic regulation. The president stressed that raising the number to 90 would enhance efficiency, reduce delays, and ensure the court is staffed with judges competent in emerging areas of law.
In a related development, Tinubu also forwarded the nomination of Oyewole Joseph to the Senate for confirmation as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The Senate is expected to subject both the bills and the nomination to legislative scrutiny in line with its constitutional mandate.
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