A bill seeking to increase the number of high court judges of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has passed second reading at the House of Representatives.
The bill is seeking to to amend Section 1b of the FCT High Court Act to increase the number of judges from 75 to a minimum of 100.
Sponsored by Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker, and five other lawmakers, the bill seeks to reduce the workload of the FCT judges.
Leading the debate during plenary on Thursday, Kalu said: “Inadequacy significantly affects the rising volume and complexity of cases brought before the court.
“At the beginning of the 2022/2023 legal year, the FCT high court carried forward 12,513 pending cases from the previous year, underscoring a substantial backlog.
“Over the same period, the court assigned an additional 5,952 new cases, bringing the workload to a level that greatly strains available judicial resources.”
“The considerable backlog reflects the limitations faced by the court in addressing the high volume of cases, which is only anticipated to increase with Abuja’s population growth and economic development,” he said.
“Given the rapid expansion of Abuja’s population, coupled with an increasing caseload spanning various legal domains, the need for additional judges has become pressing.
“This amendment Bill is therefore introduced to address these systemic challenges by increasing the statutory number of judges for the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.”
Kalu said increasing the number of judges will reduce the delays in case resolution, boosting efficiency and public confidence in the judiciary.
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