The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has charged the Judges and Staff of the National Industrial Court to always be at par with the technological trends happening the world over, especially as it relates to the Justice sector.

Mr. Akpata made this known while delivering his address at the commencement ceremony of the 2020/2021 New legal Year of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) at Abuja on the 5th of October, 2020.

Read the full speech below

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY OLUMIDE AKPATA, PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION AT THE 2020/2021 LEGAL YEAR OPENING CENEREMONY OF THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT HELD IN ABUJA ON 5 OCTOBER 2020

PROTOCOLS

It is with utmost delight that I stand before your Lordships today, in this never to be forgotten year of 2020 to welcome Your Lordships, on behalf of the Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”), from Your Lordships’ annual vacation and to felicitate My Lords on the commencement of the 2020/2021 Legal Year, which we are marking today.

Given the paramount role the National Industrial Court now plays in the socio-economic sphere of Nigeria since the reformation of the Court by the Third Alteration to the 1999 Constitution, it is easy to imagine how full and packed Your Lordships’ dockets must have been in the past Legal Year. When this is coupled with the disruptions occasioned by the COVID-19 Pandemic which has unfortunately exacerbated the problem of delays in the determination of cases, there is no doubt whatsoever that Your Lordships’ vacation was earned and well-deserved.

I wish to on behalf of the Bar formally congratulate My Lord, Honourable Justice Bendit Kanyip on His Lordship’s deserved confirmation as the substantive President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria by the National Assembly on the 5 November 2019 and subsequent swearing in by the Honorable The Chief Justice of the Federation, Honourable Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed on the 13 December 2019. The Bar wishes His Lordship a most successful tenure, and we pray that the Almighty God will grant His Lordship the wisdom, courage, good health and sound mind to pilot the affairs of this critical court, even as we pledge our cooperation with His Lordship in the fulfillment of His Lordship’s mandate of dispensing justice to all manner of persons and promoting the rule of law.

My Lords, the year 2020 is no doubt a unique year for obvious reasons. The year will forever be identified with the COVID-19 pandemic; a virulent virus that knows no boundary or territory and has so far infected more than 35 million people globally with about a million fatalities. In Nigeria, as at midnight of 4 October 2020, the pandemic had infected approximately 60,000 persons, while claiming the lives of over 1000 Nigerians, including Judges and legal practitioners. May their souls continue to rest in peace.

My Lords, the place of the National Industrial Court given its strategic Constitutional mandate of promoting industrial harmony through timely, but fair resolution of disputes arising from industrial relations in a flexible, expedient and reliable manner cannot be overemphasized. In this regard, the Court is well placed to catalyze the Nation’s industrial development and economic growth through its decisions and pronouncements on salient Labour-related disputes. I am happy to confirm that this Honorable Court has not been found wanting in that regard. Over the years, the rich Labour jurisprudence that have proceeded from the womb of the Court in the form of scholarly and well researched judgments and rulings have not only helped to instill decorum in our labour relations as a Nation, it has also helped to shore up the confidence of stakeholders in the Labour and Trade Sectors of the economy which for many years was not the case. We pray that the good Lord will continue to grant your Lordships the wisdom, grace and acute sense of justice to continue on that commendable note, even as we pledge the total cooperation of the Bar in helping your Lordships in that regard.

The New Legal Year ceremony affords us the opportunity to appraise the events of the past legal year particularly as relates to the National Industrial Court─and its effects on the justice sector and administration of justice; issues of Rule of Law; Independence of the Judiciary; the tripartite relationship between Bar, the Bench and the public; regulation of the legal profession; good governance and other related matters. It also provides us a clear opportunity to rededicate ourselves to those values and principles on which justice is founded including respect for the rule of law, upholding the Nigerian Constitution and other laws made thereunder, truth, honesty, incorruptibility, integrity, courage, the entrenchment of social and economic justice, etc.

My Lords, of all the above imperatives, the need for the observance of Rule of Law and Independence of the Judiciary deserve particular mention; and the reason is not farfetched. Like many emerging markets, the Rule of Law and Independence of the Judiciary remain prime casualties at the hands of the Executive arm of government which have formed a habit of choosing Orders of Courts of competent jurisdiction it obeys and those it disobeys in blatant mockery of the principle of Rule of Law, and the institution of the Judiciary. When these happen, the independence of mind and thoughts by Your Lordships in the determination of matters before the Courts is put under serious attack.

Achieving full independence for the judiciary in Nigeria will be difficult, if the judiciary is not guaranteed full financial autonomy under the Constitution. The spectacle of heads of Courts literally begging for its overheads and general welfare from the President of the Federation or the Governor of a State, is an ugly one that highlights the seemingly subservience of the Judiciary to the Executive arm of government which it ought to be independent of. This situation creates a somewhat master-servant relationship that upends the whole concept of Independence of the Judiciary. Sadly, as the situation may look, it is nonetheless the reality of Judiciary-Executive relationship in Nigeria today. On behalf of the Nigerian Bar Association, I condemn this practice and assure Your Lordships that we shall take all steps necessary within the framework of the Law to correct this anomaly with the view to instating full financial autonomy for the Judiciary across all levels in the Country.

Permit me at this juncture My Lords, to return to the subject of the Covid-19 Pandemic. If it has taught us anything, it is that we cannot afford to continue re-inventing the wheel in our approach to administration of justice, particularly how we conduct trials and hearings.The point being made My Lords, is that the Pandemic has taught us, even if through the hard way, the need to leverage technology in the administration of justice as the civilized nations we aspire to, had long joined that procession which the Pandemic is forcing on us today howbeit belatedly. My Lords, the fact that courts in Nigeria have sat virtually this year, and several events have taken place virtually this year, including the Annual General Conference of the NBA, are unarguably the best evidence of that technological awakening. And we cannot afford to miss out on the opportunities it presents us, particularly in the justice sector.

For example, at time when the whole world, including our closest neighbors have moved on to more innovative ways of taking down court proceedings, it is rather worrisome that Your Lordships and most courts in Nigeria continue to take down court proceedings in long hand due to absence of the requisite technological devices to aid that process. The consequences of this are twofold: waste of scarce judicial time and hazardous health implications – both physical and mental for Your Lordships. These can no longer be acceptable in the ‘new normal’ and we call on relevant stakeholders in the justice sector, notably the executive and the legislature to rise to the occasion by making provision for the adequate technological tools to remedy this anomalous situation in Your Lordships’ Courts so as to enhance the justice delivery system in the country and ensure speedy dispensation of justice.

My Lords, as I conclude this address, let me quickly confess that the National Industrial Court remains a model-Court in many respects with regards to the approach of the Court to its Constitutional responsibilities and the professionalism showed by its staff in matters of case management, correspondence with Counsel and litigants and the discipline brought to bear in the aesthetics and general outlook of the Court across its various divisions. While these may be considered trifle, they nonetheless matter, as they create the serenity and orderly ambience needed in justice administration. We commend Your Lordships and the staff of the Court for this display of environmental awareness and investment in corporate communications and relations which continues to distinguish the National Industrial Court.

On behalf of the Bar, I wish Your Lordships the very best of the 2020/2021 Legal Year. As ministers in the temple of justice, we pledge to continue to work with Your Lordships in protecting the temple of justice and advocating for the independence of the judiciary while promoting and defending the rule of law in all its ramifications. We continue to wish Your Lordships good health, long life and divine wisdom to navigate the affairs of the National Industrial Court in this new Legal Year.

Olumide Akpata

NBA President