Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, told This Day Live that the Practice Direction plans could become the most significant improvements to the nation’s criminal justice system in recent memory.

Reform

Mr Awomolo also praised the Chief Justice for demonstrating a full understanding of the issues. He said: ‘As you can see, she is not limiting her reform of the judiciary to discipline of judicial officers alone. This is a most welcome development. She deserves our support to push this reform through.’
Meanwhile, former chairman of the Abuja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, pledged his support for the plans and sad the new rules would give the criminal justice system a ‘facelift’.

Case management

Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr Chidi Odinkalu, added that the changes were long overdue.
The proposals seek to establish a specialised system of case management in the Supreme Court providing for the fair and impartial, expeditious administration of criminal appeals arising out of cases involving terrorism, rape, kidnapping, corruption, money laundering and human trafficking among others.