{"id":3964,"date":"2026-01-28T11:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/?p=3964"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:53:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:53:39","slug":"president-seeks-amendment-of-court-of-appeal-act-transmits-bill-to-national-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/president-seeks-amendment-of-court-of-appeal-act-transmits-bill-to-national-assembly\/","title":{"rendered":"President Seeks Amendment of Court of Appeal Act, Transmits Bill to National Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>President\u00a0<strong>Bola Ahmed Tinubu<\/strong>\u00a0has formally moved to amend the\u00a0<strong>Court of Appeal Act<\/strong>, transmitting a bill to the\u00a0<strong>National Assembly<\/strong>\u00a0that proposes far-reaching reforms aimed at strengthening the capacity, efficiency, and modernisation of Nigeria\u2019s appellate court system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Central to the proposed amendments is a significant expansion\nin the number of Justices of the&nbsp;<strong>Court of Appeal<\/strong>. The bill seeks to\nincrease the statutory number of Justices\u2014including the President of the\nCourt\u2014from the current 70 to 110. The proposed increase is intended to address\nchronic case backlogs, rising appellate workloads, and delays that have\ncontinued to strain judicial efficiency, particularly in election-related and\nconstitutional appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bill also introduces reforms to statutory provisions\ngoverning the composition, precedence, and ranking of Justices of the Court of\nAppeal. These changes are designed to clarify the status and ranking of the\nPresident of the Court and to establish clearer rules for determining seniority\namong Justices\u2014an area that has historically generated administrative uncertainty\nand leadership disputes within the judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In line with broader digital justice and court\nmodernisation efforts, the proposed amendments provide for the conduct of Court\nof Appeal proceedings through electronic and audio-visual means. This innovation\nis expected to enhance access to justice, reduce procedural delays, and allow\nfor more flexible and efficient management of appeals, particularly in\ntime-sensitive matters and cases involving geographically dispersed parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another notable feature of the bill is the proposed\nestablishment of an&nbsp;<strong>Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre<\/strong>\nwithin the Court of Appeal. Under the proposal, suitable appellate matters may\nbe referred to the Centre for amicable settlement. The initiative is aimed at\npromoting faster dispute resolution, reducing the litigation burden on the\nappellate courts, and encouraging a more conciliatory approach to justice\ndelivery at the appellate stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To support the effective operation of the ADR Centre, the\nbill further empowers the President of the Court of Appeal to issue regulations\nand practice directions governing its procedures and administration. This is\nintended to ensure clarity, consistency, and predictability for litigants and\nlegal practitioners engaging with the new framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposed amendments will now be subjected to full\nlegislative scrutiny, including first and second readings in both chambers of\nthe National Assembly, committee review, and public hearings. Lawmakers are\nexpected to examine the implications of the reforms for judicial independence,\naccess to justice, and the management of electoral and constitutional appeals,\nwhich constitute a significant portion of the Court of Appeal\u2019s docket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The President\u2019s letter transmitting the bill was read on\nthe floor of both the Senate and the House of Representatives upon the\nresumption of plenary sittings on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, following the\nend-of-year recess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If enacted, the amendments would represent one of the most\nsignificant statutory reforms of Nigeria\u2019s appellate court system in recent\nyears, with long-term implications for justice delivery and judicial\nadministration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President\u00a0Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u00a0has formally moved to amend the\u00a0Court of Appeal Act, transmitting a bill to the\u00a0National Assembly\u00a0that proposes far-reaching reforms aimed at strengthening the capacity, efficiency, and modernisation of Nigeria\u2019s appellate court system. Central to the proposed amendments is a significant expansion in the number of Justices of the&nbsp;Court of Appeal. The bill seeks to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3969,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964\/revisions\/3969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}