The Chairman of the Edo State Chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)-Lions Bar, Nosa Francis Edo-Osagie, Esq., has charged relevant authorities to expedite judicial proceedings. The ‘Lion-Bar’ Chairman gave the charge on Friday, June 16, 2023, while delivering his address at the Annual Lecture organized by the Law Students Association (LAWSA), Igbinedion University, Okada. The lecture entitled “Perspectives of the Legal Profession and its Evolving Challenges” was organized in honor of Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi (SAN, FCIARB). Edo-Osagie notes: “Another salient area that needs a turnaround is the delay of judicial proceedings in the country; this singular element can be considered the reason for the dwindling confidence of the layman in the judiciary. “The legal luminary wondered why the only areas of law in Nigeria that can be decided from the first appeals in one year are election petitions.” The NBA chief, while noting that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act is one law that has contributed positively to speedy criminal trials in Nigeria, argued that the country also needs such laws in other areas of litigation: “But then again, we need noble laws for the speedy adjudication and settlements of other disputes. A great country like Nigeria has reached the level where justice and dispensation ought to be obtained in not more than three months.” He emphasized that the loopholes hindering speedy justice dispensation in the country “ought to be checked and filled up.” The legal icon aligned with Festus Keyamo, SAN, who, during his 2019 Ministerial Screening, had suggested the unbundling of the Supreme Court to regions instead of having it alone at the Federal Capital Territory. This, he noted, would help to reduce the stress it takes lawyers from Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Edo, and elsewhere to file appeals in the apex court. The luminary argued that “to mitigate fee-earner burnout, law firms can adopt a range of strategies such as work management, flexible work arrangements, and stress management programs.” On his part, the Dean of the Oba Erediauwa College of Law, Professor George Izevbuwa, described Prof. Olawuyi as “an apostle in the Temple of Justice whose cerebral exposition has been an informative tonic that has shaped law as an academic discipline. The President of the Law Students Association (LAWSA), Igbinedion University, Okada, Peter Ikolo, in his opening remark, stressed the relevance of the lecture to the association while lauding the unwavering support of the learned Silk, Prof. Olawuyi, who, he recalled with delight, “was a former President of LAWSA at Igbinedion University, Okada, during his university days”.
