Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Yemi Candide-Johnson, has described the judiciary as a critical component of economic infrastructure, saying its responsibility includes ensuring peace, order and commercial stability.
Candide-Johnson, Principal Partner at Candide-Johnson Law Practice, stated this while delivering the keynote address at the 2026/2027 New Legal Year Summit.
He addressed what he described as misconceptions about the role of the judiciary in political and social discourse, noting that while courts could drive revolutionary changes in the law, they were not instruments of political revolution.
According to him, the judiciary’s primary responsibility is to preserve stability, maintain balance and support the progress of society through the consistent application of the law.
Tracing Nigeria’s legal system to the English common law tradition established in 1860, Candide-Johnson said courts were historically developed to protect business and trade.
He noted that the judiciary had continued to evolve in response to changing economic realities, stressing that the delivery of efficient, clear and predictable judgments was essential to building public confidence and sustaining economic activity.
“What judges need to do in every individual case is to give an efficient result with clarity and to give a certain result which people can bank on going forward,” he stated. “This is what produces stability.”
The senior lawyer also called for greater investment in technological infrastructure to strengthen the administration of justice, arguing that the government should regard such investments as essential to judicial effectiveness rather than additional expenditure.
He said artificial intelligence tools and modern legal search systems had made it possible for lawyers to review decades of case law within seconds, improving the speed and efficiency of legal research and decision-making.
“Technology gives me vast opportunities. The tools are available,” he said. “Paying for that infrastructure is a matter of government because government has an investment in the stability of its own society, and it is a key factor in the strength of the judiciary.”
The 2026/2027 New Legal Year Summit brought together legal practitioners, judicial officers and other stakeholders to discuss priorities for the new judicial year.