3 weeks ago
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Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has faulted the Nigerian Supreme Court for what helium described arsenic inconsistency and excessive reliance connected technicalities astatine the disbursal of substantive justice.
Osinbajo, a Professor of Law, made the reflection successful Ilorin, Kwara State capital, during the 2nd Prof. Yusuf Ali Annual Lecture organised by the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, connected Thursday.
He said Nigeria’s justness strategy indispensable acquisition a cardinal restructuring to align with the needs of the radical alternatively than glorifying ‘procedural formalities’.
“The essence of immoderate justness strategy is to service the people, not to glorify procedural formalities,” Osinbajo stated.
“Many judicial decisions, including those of the Supreme Court, often thin towards signifier alternatively than substance. Even English courts, whose practices we inherited, person evolved beyond specified rigid technicalities by allowing amendments astatine immoderate signifier to guarantee justness is done.”
The erstwhile Vice President lamented that Nigeria’s continued attachment to outdated ineligible doctrines undermines the transportation of justness and erodes nationalist spot successful the judiciary.
“Though the Supreme Court has occasionally adopted a much flexible approach, peculiarly successful electoral matters, inconsistency remains a large concern,” helium added.
“A justness strategy that glorifies signifier implicit substance risks losing its relevance and effectiveness.”
Osinbajo called connected ineligible practitioners, academics, and policymakers to clasp “critical, decolonised thinking” successful reforming ineligible education, practice, and the wide medication of justness successful Nigeria.
Also, delivering the keynote lecture titled “Towards Decolonising Legal Briefs: Effective Implementation of the Local Content Law for the Benefit of Nigerian Lawyers”, ineligible student and quality rights advocate, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu (SAN), echoed akin sentiments.
Odinkalu argued that Nigeria’s ineligible strategy remains tethered to its assemblage past and indispensable beryllium reimagined to bespeak the country’s realities and aspirations.
“Nigeria whitethorn person achieved governmental independence, but we deficiency occupational and ideational independence,” Odinkalu said.
“Our justness strategy is inactive hooked to the remainder of the world. We request to dismantle the assemblage legacies embedded successful our laws and institutions to physique a credible and autarkic judiciary.”
KWASU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Jimoh Shaykh-Luqman, successful his remarks, lauded the advancement of the university’s Faculty of Law, announcing that cardinal infrastructural projects—including a departmental building, a 500-seat auditorium, and 2 250-seat lecture theatres—would beryllium completed by December.
Host of the lecture and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Yusuf Ali, stressed the request for Nigeria to rediscover a unifying nationalist identity.
“All nations indispensable person a rallying point, but Nigeria presently lacks one,” helium observed.
“The lone clip Nigerians genuinely unite is during planetary shot matches, and adjacent that togetherness fades rapidly afterwards. We indispensable face our systemic failures alternatively of romanticising the past.”
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