The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, has announced that judges of the court disposed of 16,019 cases out of 181,924 pending matters during the 2024/2025 legal year.
The Chief Judge disclosed that 165,905 cases are now pending across the court’s divisions nationwide.
Justice Tsoho made this known on Monday at the opening of the 2025/2026 Special Legal Year court session of the Federal High Court, which was attended by Nairametrics analysts.
The development represents an update on the 161,999 cases that were carried over into the 2024/2025 legal year of the court.
Case Analysis by the CJ
According to the Chief Judge, at the end of the 2023/2024 legal year, a total of 161,999 cases were pending and carried over to the 2024/2025 legal year.
Within the period under review, a total of 19,925 new cases were filed, which, according to him, brought the total number of pending cases to 181,924.
Out of this figure, 16,019 cases were disposed of, leaving 165,905 cases pending for the new legal year.
Justice Tsoho explained that the disposed cases comprised 3,113 civil cases, 5,818 criminal cases, 3,724 motions, and 3,364 fundamental human rights cases.
“Therefore, a total of 44,650 civil cases, 44,078 criminal cases, 46,228 motions, and 30,949 fundamental rights enforcement applications remained pending at the end of the last legal year,” he added.
The Chief Judge stressed that the analysis shows the judiciary has performed commendably in the face of its expansive jurisdiction and enormous workload.
He noted that the court’s outstanding performance is reflected not only in the foregoing figures but also in other sectors of the country, citing Nigeria’s improved rating by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which he attributed partly to the contributions of the judiciary.
Justice Tsoho further informed the gathering that the e-filing system—through which all court processes can be filed electronically—has commenced in the Lagos Division, with plans underway to expand it to cover all judicial divisions across the federation.
He also confirmed that the process of appointing 14 additional judges to the Federal High Court has reached an advanced stage, following the approval and support of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Justice Kudirat M.O. Kekere-Ekun.
More Insight
On her part, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) said it would be unrealistic to ignore the fact that public confidence in judicial institutions is fragile and that perceptions—whether fair or otherwise—carry real consequences.
She noted that where court processes appear unpredictable, opaque, or inefficient, the credibility of even sound judicial decisions may suffer.
“Judicial independence must therefore be upheld, not as an abstract ideal, but as a lived and daily discipline grounded in courage, restraint, and fidelity to the law. Independence is not an adornment of democracy; it is its lifeblood,” she said.
She commended judges who continue to honour their oath and discharge their responsibilities with dignity, fairness, and professionalism, while highlighting that the workload of the court continues to grow, not only in volume but also in complexity.
What You Should Know
The Federal High Court has a wide range of jurisdiction, covering matters such as finance, revenue, civil service, and more.
It also has concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and State High Courts in respect of fundamental rights matters, by virtue of Section 46(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
