Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, has sued the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and the National Assembly to the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of court hearings via audio and video platforms.
Lagos government in the suit, is requesting the Supreme Court to determine Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Skype or any other audiovisual or video-conference platform by the Lagos State High Court or any other courts in Nigeria in aid of hearing and determination of cases are constitutional.”
The suit also seeks to know “whether in view of the powers conferred on the Chief Judge of a State under Section 274 of the Constitution and in particular, the Chief Judge of Lagos State having exercised such power to regulate the practice and procedure of the High Court of Lagos State through the issuance of the Practice Directions for Virtual Hearings dated 4th and 15th May 2020, the National Assembly, can usurp the powers of the Chief Judge of Lagos State under Section 274 of the Constitution by commencing the amendment of Section 36(3) and (4) of the Constitution to include virtual or remote hearings.”
Lagos is seeking “a declaration that the extant provisions in the Constitution, especially Sections 36(3) and (4) are adequate to accommodate virtual or remote hearings of any kind whether by way Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Skype, or any other audiovisual or video-conference platform as provided for in the Practice Directions issued by the Chief Judge of Lagos State dated 4th and 15th May 2020.”
The state government wants the apex court to declare that the bill before the National Assembly seeking to include remote hearing in the Constitution, usurps judicial function. It also wants the court to declare that the National Assembly or any other body, person or authority cannot make laws to amend the Constitution to regulate practices and procedures of the courts in Lagos.
A state counsel at the Ministry of Justice in Lagos, Oluwayemisi Osisanya, stated in an affidavit that in the wake of the pandemic, the National Judicial Council (NJC) issued guidelines to assist the dispensation of justice.
She noted, according news reports, that the Chief Judge of Lagos State issued Practice Directions to allow virtual or remote hearing, adding that the constitution amendment the National Assembly seeks to carry out, would disrupt the operations of the judiciary in Lagos.
“I know that a pronouncement by this honourable court with regard to the proper interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) as it relates to the power of courts to conduct virtual or remote hearing proceedings will assist in resolving this issue,” Osisanya stated.
The Supreme Court is yet to fix a date to hear the suit.
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