Ayomide Awe
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has disclosed that the Supreme Court handled 2,456 matters and delivered 411 judgments during the 2025/2026 legal year.
Kekere-Ekun made this known on Monday in Abuja during the opening of the 2026 legal year of the Supreme Court, where she highlighted the court’s performance and ongoing efforts to reduce delays in the administration of justice.
According to her, the court handled 2,456 matters during the period under review, compared with 2,280 matters in the preceding legal year.
She said the matters comprised 1,179 general civil motions, 573 criminal motions, 13 Sharia-related motions and 676 appeals.
Giving a breakdown of the appeals, the CJN said they included 433 general civil appeals, 212 criminal appeals, 19 political appeals, 12 Sharia appeals and 10 originating summons.
Despite the increase in its caseload, Kekere-Ekun said the court’s performance was encouraging, although more work remained to be done to address delays and the accumulation of pending cases.
“My Lords, the performance of the Court during the Legal Year under review is encouraging, yet it reminds us that there is still much work to be done,” she said.
The CJN said one of her priorities remained effective case management, particularly efforts to reduce the backlog of cases and ensure that pending matters received timely attention.
She disclosed that the court’s E-Diary Office scheduled 1,385 matters for regular sittings between March 23 and December 27, 2026, comprising 1,021 motions and 364 appeals.
Of the cases scheduled, 733 were old matters deliberately brought forward for hearing, while 178 moribund matters were disposed of in chambers.
She added that 125 matters that had already been concluded were identified and removed from the active caseload.
Kekere-Ekun said the measures were part of deliberate efforts to improve the court’s docket management and tackle delays in the administration of justice.
She, however, stressed that the volume of cases handled could not, on its own, provide a complete assessment of the court’s performance.
“These figures provide a useful measure of institutional activity, but they cannot tell the full story,” she said.
The CJN also warned judges against conduct capable of compromising their impartiality as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections.
She urged judicial officers to avoid political associations and remain guided by the Constitution and their oath of office when handling electoral disputes.
Kekere-Ekun equally cautioned lawyers against forum shopping and filing multiple suits seeking similar reliefs, warning that such practices could result in conflicting court orders and undermine public confidence in the judiciary.
She maintained that political cases should not overwhelm the courts to the detriment of other litigants awaiting justice.
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