After what was beginning to look like eternity, the National Judicial Council (NJC) has finally set Friday as the D-Day to reveal names of the long awaited justices who would fill the vacant seats at Nigeria’s Supreme Court.
Sunday PUNCH gathered exclusively that the NJC would meet on Wednesday and Thursday in Abuja to ratify the list of justices to be appointed to the benches of the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court.
Members will also consider and recommend judges for appointment into Federal High Courts, the National Industrial Court and heads of courts, as well as judges at the state level. Names of new judges for state High Courts, Customary Courts of Appeal and Sharia Courts will also be forwarded to state governors for ratification.
By the provision of Paragraph 20 of Part One of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution as amended, the NJC comprises the CJN, who is the chairman; the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court as the deputy chairman; the President of the Court of Appeal; five retired justices selected by the CJN from the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal; the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court; the President, National Industrial Court of Nigeria; and five chief judges of States to be appointed by the CJN from among the chief judges of the states and of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in rotation to serve for two years.
Others are one Grand Kadi to be appointed by the CJN from among Grand Kadis of the Sharia Courts of Appeal to serve in rotation for two years; one President of the Customary Court of Appeal to be appointed by the CJN from among the presidents of the Customary Courts of Appeal to serve in rotation for two years; five members of the Nigerian Bar Association, who have been qualified to practice for not less than 15 years, at least one of whom shall be a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, appointed by the CJN on the recommendation of the National Executive Committee of the NBA to serve for two years and subject to re-appointment provided that the five members shall sit in the Council only to consider the names of persons for appointment to the superior courts of record; and two persons not being legal practitioners, who in the opinion of the CJN, are of unquestionable integrity.
A member of the NJC told our correspondent exclusively that Wednesday and Thursday’s meeting would be the last for the year, adding that the council normally meets every quarter except in cases of emergencies.
It was gathered that 22 nominees had been screened by the appointment panel of the council headed by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun and 11 were shortlisted for appointment. After the selection process, the nominees’ names will be sent President Bola Tinubu for confirmation.
The NJC member told Sunday PUNCH, “The council will ratify the chosen and recommend them to Tinubu as the federal appointing authority.
“Some heads of courts and judges for state judicial divisions are also listed for appointment by the Kekere-Ekun committee. They will also be announced during the meeting.”
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media, the council members will exhaustively consider each candidate for appointment and study petitions against them, if any, and if found to be credible and capable of affecting their appointment, reject the candidates, or ratify their appointment if found to be frivolous.
The NJC member said, “All the nominees, including those being elevated from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, have been screened and cleared by the EFCC, ICPC and DSS. The clearance is an age-long practice of the council.
“The council has never and will never process anyone for appointment into the bench of any court, without clearance by the listed bodies.
“The meeting will take place in Abuja on Wednesday and Thursday, December 6 and 7, 2023. The main agenda is to consider the names pencilled in for appointment as justices of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
“You know the controversies trailing the non-appointment of a new set of justices to the bench of the apex court and the depletion of the justices. The meeting is the last for the year as the NJC meets every quarter except when there are emergencies.
“The council will also consider those for appointment as judges of the Federal High Court and state High Courts, as well as the National Industrial Court, Customary Court of Appeal and Sharia Courts. Recommendations on candidates for state High Courts, Customary Court of Appeal and Sharia Courts will be forwarded to state governors, whose duty it is to ratify and announce their appointments.”
The source, however, expressed frustration that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State had not sworn in judges approved by the NJC since July.
“Edo has refused to swear in the approved judges since July when the council met and recommended their appointment. The NJC unfortunately cannot enforce the decision,” he said.
Asked why the governor was stalling the inauguration of the judges, the NJC member said the judges were probably not the candidates of the authorities.
On the criticism trailing the appointment of justices and judges, who were considered not to be up to the task, the council member said, “If anyone who should not be a judicial officer gets to the bench, it is never the fault of the council.”
On how to sanitise appointments to the bench, the source said, “Since there is room for improvement, the council is working on improved modalities for entry into the system.
“Names of applicants to the bench may start appearing in newspapers for members of the public to make their observations and complaints known.
“Currently, such names are only advertised on the council’s website and the NBA notice board. For deeper public engagement, newspapers are likely to be involved going forward.
“For the first time in decades, the apex court will have the full complement of justices – the 21 envisaged by the constitution – which is a major milestone for the council and Justice Ariwoola as the Chairman of the NJC and CJN.”
NJC backs Osun CJ
On the controversial suspension of the Chief Judge of Osun State, Adepele Ojo, by Governor Ademola Adeleke following the recommendation of the state House of Assembly, the NJC top member said the council retained its recognition of the CJ as the head of the judicial division.
He, however, said the complaint against the CJ by the governor was being looked into.
S’Court nominees
On Thursday, November 16, 2023, the Federal Judicial Service Commission forwarded a list of 22 nominees to the NJC for 11 openings on the Supreme Court bench.
The NJC is expected to pick 11 deserving candidates from the list and forward their names to the President for appointment as justices of the apex court, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
The CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, had in June declared openings on the Supreme Court bench, with only 10 justices currently at the apex court instead of the full complement of 21 justices.
Only four of the six geo-political zones in the country are currently represented on the Supreme Court bench, with the South-West and North-East having three each, while the South-South and North-West have two each.
Both the South-East and North-Central have no representatives on the Supreme Court bench following the death of Justice Centus Nweze from Enugu State in July and the retirement of Justice Dattijo Muhammad from Niger State in October.
Representing the South-East on the list for consideration by the NJC are Justice Nwaoma Uwa from Abia State (priority); Justice Onyekachi Otisi (Abia State) (reserve); Justice Obande Ogbuinya (Ebonyi State) (priority); Justice Theresa Orji-Abadua (Imo State) (reserve); Justice Anthony Ogakwu (Enugu State) (priority); and Justice Chioma Nwosu-lheme (Imo State) (reserve).
The South-South has Justice Moore Adumein (Bayelsa State) (priority); and Justice Biobele Georgewill (Rivers State) (reserve).
For the South-West, Justice Adewale Abiru (Lagos State) was listed as priority, while Justice Olubunmi Oyewole (Osun State) was put on reserve.
The North-Central has Jummai Sankey (Plateau State) (priority); Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo (Plateau) (reserve); Justice Stephen Adah (Kogi State) (priority); Justice Ridman Maiwada Abdullahi (Nasarawa State) (reserve); Justice Baba Idris (Niger State) (priority); and Justice Joseph Ikyegh (Benue State) (reserve).
The North-East is represented by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani (Bauchi State) (priority); and Justice Abubakar Talba (Adamawa State) (reserve).
The North-West has Justice Muhammad Lawal Shuaibu (Jigawa State) (priority); Justice Bello Aliyu (Zamfara State) (reserve); Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar (Kebbi State) (priority); and Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero (Kano State) (reserve).
The NJC member, however, told our correspondent that it was not automatic that all those listed as priority would be appointed as Supreme Court justices, explaining that any of them who failed the interview would be dropped for those put on the reserve list, adding that there had been a precedent for such an action.
Justice Dattijo’s bombshell
Justice Dattijo had lamented during a valedictory service held in his honour on October 27, 2023, that the power vested in the CJN was too much and alleged that the refusal to fill the vacant slot of the South-East on the apex court bench was deliberate.
Dattijo said, “As presently structured, the CJN is Chairman of the National Judicial Commission, which oversees both the appointment and discipline of judges. He is equally the chair of the Federal Judicial Service Commission, the National Judicial Institute, and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee that appoints Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
“My considered opinion: the oversight functions of these bodies should not rest on an individual alone. A person with absolute powers, it is said, corrupts easily and absolutely.
“As chair of the NJC, FJSC, NJI, and LPPC, appointments as council, board, and commitment members are at his pleasure. He neither confers with fellow justices nor seeks their counsel or input on any matter related to these bodies; he has both the final and the only say.
“The CJN has the power to appoint 80 per cent of members of the council and 60 per cent of members of FJSC. The same applies to NJI and LPPC.”
Speaking further, he said such enormous powers “are effortlessly abused.”
The now-retired Supreme Court justice added, “This needs to change. Continued denial of the existence of this threatening anomaly weakens effective judicial oversight in the country. Appropriate steps could have been taken earlier to fill outstanding vacancies in the apex court.
“Why have these steps not been timeously taken? It is evident that the decision not to fill the vacancies in the court is deliberate. It is all about the absolute powers vested in the office of the CJN and the responsible exercise of the same.”
Justice Dattijo further decried the exclusion of justices from two geo-political zones of the country from the seven-man panel that heard the appeals by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
He said it was dangerous for the nation’s democracy to have left out justices from the South-East and North-Central regions.
He stated, “To ensure justice and transparency in presidential appeals from the lower court, all geo-political zones are required to participate in the hearing. It is therefore dangerous for democracy and equity for two entire regions to be left out in the decisions that will affect the generality of Nigerians.
“With the passing of my lord, Justice Chima Nweze, on July 29, 2023, the South-East no longer has any presence at the Supreme Court. My lord, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, died on March 7, 2021. There has not been any appointment in his stead for the South-East.
“As it stands, only four geo-political regions – the South-West, South-South, North-West and North-East – are represented in the Supreme Court. While the South-South and North-East have two serving justices, the North-West and South-West are fully represented with three each.”
He said with his retirement, the North-Central zone, which he represented, would no longer have a justice on the bench.
Justice Ariwoola had lamented that the Supreme Court was left with just 10 justices on the bench.
According to the CJN, this is the lowest number of justices the court has ever known in contemporary Nigerian history.
In 2022, a total of 23 lawyers, including eight SANs applied to fill six Supreme Court vacancies at the time.
Reacting to Justice Dattijo’s criticism, the NJC member said the retired jurist was the most senior judicial officer after the CJN and was the chair of the council’s appointment, finance and constitution review committees.
Kano gov judgment
On the controversy surrounding the judgment of the Appeal Court on the Kano State governorship tussle, the NJC member said the version, which affirmed Governor Abba Yusuf, contrary to that read in court, “was a product of error by the secretary who typed it and Justice Moore not supervising the final copy well.”
He added, “Petitions have been written and the council is reaching out to the petitioners because the petitions didn’t follow the standard procedure of filing.
“The council is challenging critics to first read judgments they are criticising before going on air to slam the system without justification, particularly lawyers, who are also social critics.”
