- “Justice delayed in Public interest matters is justice denied to millions of people”- CJ Federal High Court, Justice Tsoho
The Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Hon. Justice Babatunde Adejumo has stated that the Public Interest Litigation, once regarded as peripheral to traditional adjudication, has now emerged as a critical legal tool for addressing systemic governance failures, enforcing socio-economic rights, and ensuring that public power is exercised within the bounds of legality, transparency, and accountability.
Justice Adejumo made the remarks while delivering his welcome address at the interactive workshop with Honourable Judges of the Federal High Court on Using Public Interest as a tool for promoting Human Rights and Social Justice, organized by the National Judicial Institute in collaboration with Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, widely known as SERAP.
Justice Adejumo said the programme was carefully designed as a judicial education and engagement forum, reflecting the Institute’s enduring commitment to strengthening judicial capacity in areas of law that are increasingly central to democratic governance, accountability, and the protection of public interest.
The administrator averred that the presence of Hon. Judges of the Federal High Court underscores the collective resolve of the Nigerian Judiciary to remain responsive to the evolving demands of justice in a constitutional democracy.
Justice Adejumo stated that the deployment of Public Interest Litigation also raises complex questions relating to judicial restraint, separation of powers, evidentiary standards, and the appropriate limits of judicial intervention in policy matters, and the need to consider judicial reasoning on its impacts on public confidence in the judiciary, institutional legitimacy, and domestic governance.
While imploring the Hon. Judges to approach the engagement with openness and intellectual curiosity, Justice Adejumo expressed profound appreciation to the Honourable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute, Hon. Justice K.M.O. Kekere Ekun, GCON, FNJI, and other esteemed Members of the Education Committee for their Lordship’s steadfast support for the Institute’s programmes and unwavering commitment to the advancement of judicial education in Nigeria.
In his keynote address, the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho stressed that Public Interest Litigation is often the only way to hold the machinery of state accountable, and Justice delayed in Public interest matters is justice denied to millions of people.
While reiterating the commitment of the Court on prioritizing Public Interest Litigation cases to ensure that the impact of our judgements is felt in real time, Justice John Tsoho commended the National Judicial Institute and the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) for the collaboration, and averred that the judiciary does not exist in a vacuum, the Court need the intellectual rigor and the investigative courage of civil society to bring to light the injustices that occur in the dark corners of bureaucracy.
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