ABEOKUTA – The Chief Registrar of the High Court of Ogun State, Mr Olakulehin Oke, has disclosed that 51,955 inmates across Nigeria’s custodial centres are awaiting trial, representing about 64 per cent of the total inmate population of 80,812.
Oke said the high number of awaiting-trial inmates had placed the judiciary under intense criticism over delays in the administration of justice, stressing the need for magistrates to improve case management and adopt innovative approaches to reduce congestion in the justice system.
He made the disclosure while discussing a paper titled, “The Future of the Nigerian Magistracy in an Evolving Justice Sector,” presented by Mr Sola Ojutalayo, SAN, at the 2026 National Convention of the Magistrates Association of Nigeria.
The convention, held on Tuesday, focused on strengthening the magistracy for effective justice delivery through capacity building and innovation.
Oke acknowledged that inadequate court facilities, heavy caseloads, delayed welfare provisions, uncertain career progression, outdated record-keeping and the slow adoption of technology remained major challenges confronting magistrates across the country.
However, he urged judicial officers to look beyond institutional shortcomings and take greater responsibility for improving justice delivery within their respective courts.
According to him, the future of the magistracy should not be measured solely by the opportunities provided by the system but also by the value magistrates create through professionalism, innovation and effective service delivery.
He said, “We must stop measuring the future of the Magistracy solely by the opportunities the system gives us and begin to measure it also by the value we create within the system.”
Oke identified effective case management as one of the critical measures magistrates could adopt to address delays in the administration of justice, particularly in cases involving defendants held in custody.
He advised magistrates to maintain reliable records of pending cases, the reasons for adjournments, the next procedural steps and the duration of pre-trial detention, especially in remand proceedings governed by statutory time limits.
He also called for prompt action through appropriate administrative channels whenever prosecutors repeatedly failed to appear in court, defendants were not produced from custody or case files were consistently unavailable.
The Chief Registrar noted that proper documentation would enable magistrates to identify recurring obstacles, demonstrate efforts made to address delays and make evidence-based demands for institutional intervention.
On technology, Oke urged magistrates to embrace available digital tools for case tracking, electronic record-keeping, virtual hearings and communication with legal practitioners, rather than waiting for fully equipped digital courtrooms before introducing innovations.
He, however, cautioned that the use of artificial intelligence in judicial work must not undermine independent judgment, confidentiality, fair hearing or the rights of litigants.
While acknowledging that AI could assist with legal research, summarising documents and organising information, he maintained that judicial officers must independently verify legal authorities and retain responsibility for their decisions.
“Every proposition of law must be verified. Every decision must remain ours,” he said.
Oke further stressed the importance of continuous professional development, urging magistrates to keep abreast of changes in criminal and civil procedure, electronic evidence, data protection, cybercrime and other emerging areas of law.
He said magistrates must also ensure that courtrooms remained accessible and respectful environments where litigants were treated with dignity, irrespective of their social standing.
According to him, professionalism requires judicial officers to be firm without being rude, patient without being inefficient and accessible without compromising judicial independence.
He also encouraged magistrates to periodically assess their performance through indicators such as case disposal rates, the age of pending cases, the frequency and causes of adjournments, the management of remand proceedings and the quality of judgments.
Oke, however, cautioned against using performance statistics to encourage hurried or unjust decisions, noting that the objective should be to identify weaknesses and improve the quality of justice delivery.
Turning to the role of the Magistrates Association of Nigeria, he called for the establishment of a Magistracy Reform and Data Unit to collect reliable information on caseloads, staffing, court facilities, welfare, training opportunities and career progression across states.
He proposed that the association publish an annual State of the Nigerian Magistracy Report to provide evidence for advocacy and help authorities identify and address institutional deficiencies.
He also advocated the creation of a Magistrates’ Innovation Network to enable judicial officers across states to share effective practices in case management, digital record-keeping and public access to justice.
The Chief Registrar urged the association to pursue structured engagements with chief judges, judicial service commissions, state governments, houses of assembly, the National Judicial Council and the National Judicial Institute to secure reforms in welfare, training, courtroom facilities, promotion criteria and digital infrastructure.
He further called for stronger collaboration among magistrates, the police, prosecutors, defence counsel, correctional services, the Legal Aid Council and alternative dispute resolution institutions to address recurring problems affecting justice delivery.
On how magistrates could cope with unfavourable institutional conditions, Oke advised them against allowing frustration over poor welfare, delayed promotion or inadequate facilities to undermine their professional standards.
He urged judicial officers to document their achievements, develop their professional competence, build appropriate relationships within the justice sector and use lawful channels to challenge unfair treatment.
He stressed that professional resilience should not be interpreted as silent acceptance of poor working conditions, adding that judicial authorities remained responsible for addressing institutional deficiencies.
Oke proposed a 12-month reform programme for the association, beginning with a baseline assessment of court conditions, workload, technology, welfare and career progression within the first three months.
He said the association should publish a reform memorandum within six months, establish a pilot innovation network, engage relevant judicial authorities within nine months and issue a progress report at the end of the year.
He urged every magistrate to commit to improving court management, investing in professional development and contributing to the collective work of the association.
He maintained that the future of the magistracy would depend on the quality of judicial decisions, integrity, innovation, professional organisation and the willingness of judicial officers to demand fair institutional treatment.
“The strength of the Magistracy cannot be measured only by how many of its members are eventually elevated to the High Court. It must also be measured by the quality of justice delivered in Magistrates’ Courts, the confidence inspired in the public and the contribution made to the rule of law,” he said.
Oke added that magistrates must become more innovative in their courts, more organised in their association and more committed to justice, stressing that their competence and contribution should make their importance to the judiciary impossible to ignore.
