Congestion: NJC Delivers Retrofitted Court Room To Supreme Court
The National Judicial Council (NJC) on Monday delivered a fully retrofitted courtroom to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, as part of efforts to address the issue of a high level of congestion of cases in the court.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola performed the commissioning of the courtroom designed and equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
Chairman, Judiciary Information Technology and Chief Judge of Borno State, Hon. Justice Kashim Zannah hinted that the retrofitted courtroom is one of the nine recently completed and technologically enhanced courtrooms across the country.
Similar courtrooms, Zannah said, have been provided for the Court of Appeal, Federal High Court, and National Industrial Court among others by the NJC.
With the court, Justice Zannah disclosed that lawyers can argue their cases from any part of the world without a physical appearance as being done at the moment.
He appealed to state governments to key into the new policy for the state judiciary.
The fully automated courts, Justice Zannah said, have been retrofitted with the latest cutting-edge technology to enhance justice administration, aimed at providing Nigerians with the fast, transparent, and accessible justice system they deserve.
“This is in furtherance of a key plank of the National Judicial Policy which creates for the Judiciary a Charter of Commitment “to promote and ensure the highest possible standard of qualitative justice delivery.”
Justice Zannah explained the retrofitted courtroom is an initiative of the National Judicial Council/JITPCO towards standardization of courtroom infrastructure nationwide; by integrating ICT into court processes in Nigeria.
“This is done by providing the latest audio-visual aids, recording, and technological advances system as obtainable in most western courts worldwide.
“This retrofitted court is a sharp departure from our regular courts in Nigeria where power cut is a common feature and the attendant sweltering heat; and in some cases, the bar and the bench will have to use the flashlight from their mobile devices to read when it’s dark.
“The courts are adequately provisioned with a power backup system such that you are unlikely to notice any power cut,” Justice Zannah said.
The courts are designed with bespoke sound absorption acoustic panels to attenuate or eliminate all types of noise from entering the courtroom, this is to ensure clarity of spoken words in court, without echo and reverberations.
“We have a professional audio and video recording software solution that records from any type of source and enables full integration with court audio systems and court intranet.
It is flexible and scalable and equally reliable and robust. It captures all activities in the courtroom, with the capability for playback and direct reference to the recording by court officials, even remotely.
“This is protected by a world-class firewall and security system to avoid unwarranted access.
The courts are equipped with all technology necessary to enable the appearance of remotely located counsels, witnesses, as well as defendants in correctional facilities.
