Senior Advocate of Nigeria Jibrin Okutekpa has warned that Nigerian lawyers are now trapped in what he described as a “jurisprudential quagmire” because courts are no longer following their own previous decisions, even when the facts of cases are the same or similar.
Okutekpa said judicial precedent, which is based on the doctrine of stare decisis, is meant to ensure that courts “stand by what has been decided”, allowing lawyers to rely on settled principles of law when advising their clients or filing cases in court.
However, he said Nigerian courts now routinely issue conflicting decisions on the same issues, including at the level of the High Courts, the Court of Appeal, and even the Supreme Court.
According to him, this breakdown has made it nearly impossible for lawyers to give “sound and accurate legal advice” or predict the outcome of cases, because the courts no longer respect their own precedents.
He stressed that courts should either follow their previous decisions or clearly overrule them, warning that failing to do so only creates confusion, instability, and uncertainty in the justice system.
Okutekpa concluded that adherence to precedent is essential for justice, certainty, and public confidence in Nigeria’s legal system.
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