President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to pass a bill amending the Court of Appeal Act, proposing an increase in the number of justices from the current 70 to 110. The move is part of broader reforms aimed at addressing mounting caseloads, reducing delays, and strengthening the appellate justice system in Nigeria.
The request was contained in a letter from the President to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, which was read during plenary on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The proposed amendments, titled the Court of Appeal Act (Amendment) Bill, seek to enhance the institutional capacity, operational efficiency, and overall effectiveness of the Court of Appeal in line with constitutional requirements and evolving demands within the justice sector.
In the letter, President Tinubu explained that the expansion of the bench is the central feature of the bill. “The bill seeks to increase the number of justices of the Court of Appeal from 70 to 110 and provide clarification of judicial structure and seniority,” he stated. The President emphasized that the current complement of 70 justices has become inadequate to handle the rising volume of appeals emanating from the High Courts, National Industrial Court, Sharia Courts of Appeal, Customary Courts of Appeal, and other tribunals across the country.
Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, as the intermediate appellate court, serves as the final arbiter in most civil and criminal matters, with only limited cases reaching the Supreme Court. Recent statistics from the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Court of Appeal itself indicate a persistent backlog of cases, with thousands pending across its 20 divisions nationwide. The average time for disposing of appeals has often exceeded two to three years, contributing to public complaints about delayed justice, prolonged incarceration for awaiting-trial inmates, and erosion of confidence in the judicial system.
President Tinubu argued that expanding the bench would allow for the creation of additional panels, faster hearing of appeals, and more specialized divisions to handle emerging areas of law, including electoral petitions, commercial disputes, intellectual property, and technology-related cases. He noted that the increase aligns with constitutional provisions under Section 237(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the National Assembly to prescribe the number of justices by law.
Beyond the numerical increase, the bill proposes structural and procedural reforms. These include:
- Clarification of judicial hierarchy and seniority among justices, including the position of the President of the Court of Appeal;
- Determination of seniority for administrative and judicial purposes;
- Modernization of appellate proceedings through the integration of technology, such as electronic filing of processes, virtual hearings, digital case management systems, and e-judgment delivery.
The technology component reflects the judiciary’s ongoing digital transformation efforts, accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and reinforced by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and various practice directions issued by the Court of Appeal. President Tinubu highlighted that embedding these provisions in the principal Act would provide a stronger legal foundation for sustainable e-justice initiatives.
