Nigeria’s legal community is renewing calls for far-reaching reforms to the country’s justice system as longstanding problems, including slow trials, overcrowded correctional facilities and outdated legal frameworks, continue to undermine public confidence. At a series of recent forums, senior lawyers, judicial scholars and rights advocates warned that the system’s structural weaknesses are hurting citizens, discouraging investment and eroding the rule of law.
The concerns follow years of growing frustration over congested court dockets, prolonged pretrial detention and recurring cases of suspects spending longer in prison awaiting trial than the maximum sentence for the crimes they were accused of. Legal experts say the situation has worsened as courts struggle with inadequate staffing, insufficient digital infrastructure and inconsistent funding across states.
A key point raised by practitioners is the urgent need to address delays in trial processes, which they say stem from several interconnected problems. Many courts rely on manual filing systems that slow down case assignments and document retrieval. The shortage of judges and magistrates means existing officers are overstretched, handling far more cases than international best practice recommends. Procedural bottlenecks, frequent adjournments and tactical delays by litigants further add to the backlog.
Lawyers argue that such delays carry profound human costs. Thousands of Nigerians remain in correctional facilities without trial, contributing heavily to overcrowding. Official data has repeatedly shown that the majority of inmates in many custodial centres are awaiting trial. Human rights groups say this undermines Nigeria’s constitutional commitment to fair and speedy justice, leaving families in limbo and causing long-term psychological and economic harm.
Overcrowding itself has become a national crisis. Correctional facilities designed decades ago for far fewer inmates are now running far beyond capacity, straining sanitation, healthcare and safety systems. Legal analysts note that pretrial detainees, who have not been convicted of any offence, often live in the same cramped conditions as convicted inmates, raising ethical and legal concerns. Lawyers at the forum said meaningful justice sector reform must include coordinated investments in correctional infrastructure, alternatives to imprisonment
