CJN Kekere-Ekun Reports 411 Supreme Court Judgments in Legal Year

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Nigeria's Chief Justice, announced on Monday that the Supreme Court processed a total of 2,456 cases and issued 411 judgments during the 2025/2026 legal calendar. This information was shared by Justice Kekere-Ekun at a special Supreme Court session held in Abuja, which marked the official opening of the 2026/2027 legal year.

She detailed that these matters included 1,179 general civil motions, 573 criminal motions, 13 Sharia-related motions, and 676 appeals. Further breaking down the appeals, she stated they consisted of 433 general civil appeals, 212 criminal appeals, 19 political appeals, 12 Sharia appeals, and 10 originating summons. Out of this substantial caseload, 411 judgments were pronounced. Justice Kekere-Ekun also noted, “During the preceding Legal Year, the Court handled 2,280 matters and delivered 369 judgments and rulings.”

The CJN pointed out that while these statistics offer insight into the court's operational volume, they do not fully encapsulate the entirety of its activities. She described the apex court's performance for the year as encouraging, yet conceded that additional efforts are still necessary. The Chief Justice affirmed the court's ongoing commitment to efficient docket management, implementing strategies designed to mitigate delays and reduce the backlog of cases.

Justice Kekere-Ekun further revealed that the court’s E-Diary Office arranged 1,385 matters for its regular sittings between March 23 and December 17, 2026. These matters comprised 1,021 motions and 364 appeals. She specified that 733 of these cases were older matters intentionally fast-tracked for adjudication. “Additionally, 178 inactive matters were resolved in Chambers, and 125 cases that had already reached conclusion were identified and taken off the active list,” she stated.

The CJN emphasized that these actions demonstrate a conscious strategy for managing the court's caseload, involving the identification of outstanding matters, prioritizing older cases, and eliminating concluded ones from the active roster. She concluded by asserting, “These measures reflect a more deliberate approach to managing our docket. The work of the E-Diary Office is therefore an important part of our continuing effort to make the Court more efficient, responsive and better able to meet the expectations of litigants.”