By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—THE  Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday, called for the immediate appointment of more Justices for the Court of Appeal, noting that some Divisions of the Court do not have the quorum of five Justices for the constitution of a full panel.

The NBA, in an address by its National President, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, presented at a special valedictory court session that was held in honour of the President of the Court of Appeal, PCA, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, who bowed out of the judiciary upon clocking the 70 years mandatory retirement age, also advocated for the elevation of more female Judges to the appellate court.

It noted that out of 86 Justices that are currently on the bench of the Court of Appeal, only 23 of them are females.

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The NBA said: “Indeed, the number of female justices of the Court of Appeal reached 10 only in 2005 with the elevation of Denton-West, JCA-18 years after the elevation of Mukhtar JCA (as she then was) and 12 years after the elevation of Ige JCA.

“As at date, out of 86 Justices of the Court of Appeal, only 23 – barely 30 per cent – are female. With such a poor record in gender diversity, the epoch-making achievement of Bulkachuwa PCA, truly calls for celebration and corrective steps in enlarging the coast of our diversity and gender inclusion”.

On the need for the appointment of more Justices, the legal body said: “Ideally, some Divisions, like the Lagos Division of this Honourable Court should have not less than 3 panels that sit regularly and consistently to reduce and spread the workload and that means, having more JJCA that are posted to these Divisions.

“Not to be forgotten is that we have in the recent months been blessed with additional and newly-created Divisions of this Court which, by itself, enhances access to justice but also compounds and stretches beyond the limits the work schedules of the limited JJCA that we currently have.

“The NBA, therefore, calls for the immediate appointment of additional Justices of the Court of Appeal not just for the extremely busy Divisions of the Honourable Court but for literally all the Divisions, the need for which we would illustratively show presently.”

In her valedictory speech, the retired PCA, Justice Bulkachuwa, said there was need for more attention to be paid to the educational development of the girl child in Nigeria.
Bulkachuwa said: “My life has been awesomely phenomenal. I was born at a time when girls hardly went to school and even when they did, they were not allowed to go beyond elementary level before being married off. I was lucky I had a father who encouraged me and taught me to reach for the sky.

“There are profound meanings and lessons in life and my life continues to bring them to the fore. If I could achieve all these in spite of the adversaries I faced, every girl child in Nigeria and indeed the world can also aspire for the great strides towards it and achieve it.”

Vanguard