{
  "id": 14868971,
  "title": "Court delays make justice costly, inaccessible — Adekunle, SAN",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/court-delays-make-justice-costly-inaccessible-adekunle-san",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T04:42:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/court-delays-make-justice-costly-inaccessible-adekunle-san/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Adekunle Olamide, a partner at Afe Babalola & Co., has been sworn in as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) at the age of 40. In a recent interview, she discussed several issues surrounding justice delivery in Nigeria, including court delays, high legal costs, and poor infrastructure. She believes that court delays are the primary root cause, with the other issues being direct effects or multipliers.\n\nAccording to Adekunle, delays in the legal process significantly impact the cost of litigation. Every adjournment is billed at professional time, and the litigant also bears the cost of lost working days. The criminal justice system faces a similar challenge, with awaiting-trial persons making up a large proportion of the custodial population. She emphasizes that justice should not be sacrificed for speed, as delay is detrimental to the advancement of the judiciary and there is room for improvement.\n\nTo tackle the issues of affordability and accessibility to legal services, Adekunle points out that existing frameworks already exist, such as the Legal Aid Act and court rules providing reduced costs for indigent parties. She stresses the need for better publicity surrounding these initiatives, as many citizens are unaware that such assistance is available to them.",
  "summary": "Olamide Adekunle, SAN, discusses how court delays in Nigeria are the root cause of high legal costs and inaccessibility, undermining justice delivery. Read More: https://punchng.com/court-delays-make-justice-costly-inaccessible-adekunle-san/",
  "key_points": [
    "Court delays are primary cause of costly, inaccessible justice in Nigeria",
    "Every adjournment billed at professional time, litigant bears lost working days cost",
    "Legal aid frameworks exist but need better publicity to reach citizens"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Persistent judicial delays transform legal proceedings into expensive burdens for litigants, making existing financial assistance frameworks ineffective due to a widespread lack of public awareness.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Court delays make justice costly, inaccessible — Adekunle, SAN",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/court-delays-make-justice-costly-inaccessible-adekunle-san-14870439",
        "published": "2026-10-16T04:52:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}