Justice Bulkachuwa attributed the credit to the provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice, 2015, which allows judges elevated to the Court of Appeal to return to the high court to conclude their part-heard criminal cases pending in their court before their elevation.
She spoke in Abuja at a national workshop aimed at setting minimum standards for the effective implementation of ACJA.
It was organised by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Justice.
Justice Mohammed Idris, who was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2018, had returned to the Federal High Court in Lagos to conclude Kalu’s trial by convicting the serving senator and sentencing him to 12 years’ imprisonment for N7.1bn fraud, on December 5.
The Court of Appeal President said she had issued fiats 50 times to about eight justices of her court, including Justice Idris, to enable them to conclude such part-heard cases.
She noted that Kalu’s case was only one of the many of such cases, which were probably not high-profile, that had been concluded through the activation of the provision of ACJA.
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She said the “applications were made by the EFCC, the Ministry of Justices and other prosecutorial agencies that our Justices who were appointed from the High Courts and elevated to the Court of Appeal be given fiats to go back to the various High Courts and complete the cases they have started.”
She added, “I have given fiats at least 50 times to about eight Justices of the Court of Appeal to go back and complete their assignments.
“The most recent is that of Justice Idris when he completed his matter of Orji Kali. But before then, he had completed about 15 matters.
“Similarly, Justice Talba, Justice Umar and Justice Ojo from the FCT High Court; and from the Federal High Court were Justices Idris, Justice Aliyu, I think about five of them from there, who have completed matters.
“I think this is a big plus for the Administration of Criminal Justice Act because matters get to be completed within the shortest time possible and decisively. I have not seen any of the matters that have come on appeal yet. I have not heard. Maybe that is the end of the matter as it is.”
The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, and the President of the CSLS, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), also lauded the provisions of the ACJA.
The Director-General of Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Prof. Muhammed Ladan, said NIAL was ready to partner any institution to ensure effective implementation of ACJA.
He said there was the need to put in place a mechanism for assessment indicators of the implementation of the law.
