The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola has said that the country’s judiciary is burdened with the rise in the number of cases pending before various courts.
The CJN noted that it is an undisputed fact that Nigeria continuously ranks among the most litigious countries in the world.
He insisted that Nigerians must come up with alternative methods of dispute resolution to free the courts of unnecessary burden and depletion of human and material resources.
The CJN stated this at the Supreme Court while inaugurating the nine newly appointed Justices of the Court of Appeal today.
Giving reasons for the continued rise in court cases, the CJN said the level of novel crimes committed in the country has now kept litigations on a steady rise.
“He expressed the strong belief that it is high time we began to imbibe the culture of less litigation and more alternative dispute resolution mechanisms so that our courts can be freed of unnecessary burden and depletion of both human and material resources.
He urged the justices to redouble their pace to catch up with the expectations of the litigants as they have a divine mandate on earth that must be discharged with unveiled honesty and sincerity.