Appeal Court targets job creation through quick disposal of appeals

…Sets up special panels

As part of efforts to tackle youth unemployment in the country, the Court of Appeal has unveiled plans to speedily resolve appeals involving corporate and business organisations.

The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-mensem who made this known in Abuja, said the court would henceforth, prioritise cases that have to do with corporate bodies to pave way for job creation among the nation’s teeming youth.

“In a nation with teeming unemployed graduates and restive youths, we must do our part to create jobs by ensuring that all appeals are heard expeditiously especially those which involve corporate bodies and businesses which can provide jobs for our youths”, she said.

Justice Dongban-mensem disclosed t hi s on t he occasion of maiden edition of the meeting with Presiding Justices of the 20 Divisions of the Court of Appeal tagged: Working Conference of the Presiding Justices of the Court of Appeal.

She said the appellate court has set up seven Special Panels saddled with the responsibility of de-congesting backlog of appeals.

The working Conference, which is first of its kind, she noted was specially chosen to promote a sense of togetherness by enabling the most experienced minds to be deployed on Special de-congestion panels that will tackle the most congested Divisions.

The special panels which will be sitting in two sessions daily will work for three days to attend to over 100 motions.

The Appeal Cour t President noted that this became necessary in view of the lingering appeals clustering the court due to what she described as the unwillingness of some litigants who go into deep slumber without filing complete processes.

According to the President, “The Court of Appeal cannot be used as a tool in the hands of these litigants who go into a deep slumber. All notices of appeal filed without being followed with other processes to ensure quick prosecution and disposal of the appeal should be shown the way out. We have sufficient provisions in our rules, which are backed by Constitutional provision for the disposal of matters in court.”

She noted that since Presiding Justices are heads of the Divisions, they can go ahead and take charge and keep up with the tempo in their various Divisions. “Since the Presiding Justices are heads of the Divisions, we have come out to dare to bite so that when we go back to our Divisions, we shall not forget to keep up the tempo,” she admonished.