Rumbling In Judiciary Over Seniority, CJN Succession Intrigues
THE current efforts at strengthening the nation’s Supreme Court are throwing up intrigues over seniority and succession that may have far-reaching implications. In the midst of the rumblings is President Muhammadu Buhari, the appointing authority for federal and the Federal Capital Territory judges.
Information at the disposal of the Nigerian Tribune showed that the president is not only in the middle of the whole saga, events of the last 10 months point at the executive arm as the force behind the strings. Without an official explanation, President Buhari has refused to complete the appointment procedure and process of four justices of Court of Appeal, recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for elevation to the Supreme Court to augment the badly-depleted court.
While the constitution prescribes maximum of 21 justices for the apex court, where all appeals end, save for National Assembly and Houses of Assembly elections, the court currently has a meagre 12 justices, handling appeals from all the divisions of the Court of Appeal.
THE current efforts at strengthening the nation’s Supreme Court are throwing up intrigues over seniority and succession that may have far-reaching implications. In the midst of the rumblings is President Muhammadu Buhari, the appointing authority for federal and the Federal Capital Territory judges.
Information at the disposal of the Nigerian Tribune showed that the president is not only in the middle of the whole saga, events of the last 10 months point at the executive arm as the force behind the strings. Without an official explanation, President Buhari has refused to complete the appointment procedure and process of four justices of Court of Appeal, recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for elevation to the Supreme Court to augment the badly-depleted court.
While the constitution prescribes maximum of 21 justices for the apex court, where all appeals end, save for National Assembly and Houses of Assembly elections, the court currently has a meagre 12 justices, handling appeals from all the divisions of the Court of Appeal.
