The Judges’ Performance Evaluation Committee of the National Judicial Council (NJC) under the Chairmanship of HRH, Hon. Justice Bage Muhammad has commended Hon. Justice Nelson Ogbuanya of the National Industrial Court for Excellent Performance for in the 2nd Quarter 2022 assessment of Return of Cases by Judges of Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria.
According to the Commendation Letter dated 28th November 2023 addressed to Hon. Justice N.C.S Ogbuanya, through the Office of the President of the Industrial Court, the Committee noted with admiration that Justice Ogbuanya performed excellently well by delivering 28 judgments during the Quarter, and urged His Lordship to keep the stride up.
The Committee on Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers of Superior Courts of Record was created in 2003 by the NJC, the apex regulatory body for the Nigerian Judiciary, with a view to improving the judicial performance and ethical conduct of Judicial Officers across the country.
The various mandates of the Committee according to the GUIDELINES ON PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS OF SUPERIOR COURTS OF RECORD 2021, Published by the NJC, includes evaluating, assessing, monitoring and supervising the general conduct of Judicial Officers in the discharge of their judicial functions and administration of justice. In discharging the mandate, it regularly carries out detailed examination, assessment and evaluation of the Quarterly Returns of Judicial Officers of the Superior Courts in the Country, based on their submitted Quarterly Returns of Cases conducted, and scrutinizes the performance of Judges based on set indicators and parameters, and also regularly establishes statistical dashboards of Judges’ performance.
The current reviewed Assessment Guidelines based on Contested Cases and Motions in which Judgments were given in a period of three months (quarter), for Individual Judges &Appellate Courts are as follows: 0-3 is ranked No performance; 4-5 (Marginal Performance); 6-10 (Fair); 11-18 (Good); 19-23(Very Good); 24 and above (Excellent).A Judicial Officer rated with Non Performance or Marginal Performance in a quarter will be sent a letter (query) to explain the reason for his performance, If such Judicial Officer is so graded with non-performance or marginal performance for three consecutive quarters, he will be invited to appear before the Committee to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against him, as such non-performance is considered as a misconduct, which can lead to removal from office. A Judicial Officer graded with “Very Good” will be issued a letter of Appreciation, while a Judicial Officer rated “Excellent” will be issued a letter of Commendation by the Committee. Judges’ performance rating also impacts on the rating of the Head of Court and the Court where the Judges are serving.