Tag Archives: Chief Justice of Nigeria

President Buhari appoints Walter Onnoghen as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria

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The uncertainty surrounding succession to the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) has persisted even as the Presidency said Wednesday that an acting CJN would be sworn in today by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The president’s failure to appoint a replacement for Justice Mahmud Mohammed, whose tenure lapsed 12 midnight Wednesday, had threatened to create a leadership vacuum in the judiciary.

But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Shehu Garba, said Wednesday that there was no prospect for confusion as the president would inaugurate an acting CJN later today.

“An acting CJN will be sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari at 2.00 pm Thursday,” he stated in a text message, adding that he had no information about who would be appointed into the office.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation will present the person to the president tomorrow for swearing-in,” he said.

A reliable source, however, said Wednesday that the most senior justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Walter Onnoghen, might be the choice of the president in line with Section 230 (4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which provides: “If the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions, the president shall appoint the most senior justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.”

By virtue of Section 231 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it is the prerogative of the ?president to appoint a CJN.

Section 231 (1) explicitly provides: “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.”

?At its emergency meeting held on 11 October, 2016, the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended Justice Onnoghen, being the most senior justice of the Supreme Court, for consideration for appointment as CJN.

But the process of appointment was stalemated by the failure of the president to indicate his acceptance of the NJC recommendation by forwarding its nominee to the Senate for confirmation.

Although in law, the president is not bound to accept the NJC recommendation, he could also not bypass the council in making the appointment.

If for any reason, the president does not accept the NJC recommendation, he is at liberty to ask the Council to recommend to him another suitable candidate for the office.

Senior lawyers said yesterday that unless the president exercised his powers under Section 230 (4) of the Constitution, there might be a leadership vacuum that could precipitate a constitutional crisis in the third arm of government.

The lawyers argued that except the president activated this section of the Constitution, the most senior justice of the Supreme Court could not automatically assume the leadership of the judiciary.

By swearing in someone in an acting capacity today, the president would have activated this proviso even as he leaves in abeyance the process of appointing a substantive chief justice of the federation.

?Last Monday, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Sebastian Hon, called on the president to act with dispatch and ensure that the name of the next CJN was forwarded to the Senate for clearance.

Hon, in a statement, ?said it was scary that the name of the next CJN had not been sent to the Senate with less than a week before the incumbent, Justice Mohammed, would retire.

He said: “The tenure of office of the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, will expire at 12 midnight on 9th November, 2016.

“The name of Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, the next most Senior Justice of the Supreme Court, has since October 10, 2016, been forwarded to the president, who is expected, constitutionally, to forward it to the Senate for confirmation.

“Till this moment, Mr. President has not forwarded Justice Onnoghen’s name to the Senate for confirmation. This is scary, to say the least.

“Senate confirmation hearings are not jamborees but are grave constitutional exercises, requiring incisive investigative and at times confrontational posturing. In other words, the Senate needs to obtain the biodata of the CJN nominee ahead of time, to enable the upper legislative chambers to conduct a thorough investigation cum confirmation exercise.

“The time to act is now, as the Senate must confirm Justice Onnoghen latest on Tuesday, to further enable his swearing-in just before or just after Justice Mahmud bows out.

“The image of the Judiciary has nosedived in the recent times; and Mr. President must be seen to be preventing any further dent on the image of this crucial arm of government.

“Mr. President should once again act as the father of the nation, by forwarding Justice Onnoghen’s name for confirmation – since he is the only southerner entitled to occupy the seat of the CJN for close to 30 years.

“This gesture will go a very long way in cementing our sectional divides. Again, the time to act is now!”

CJN Orders Day-To-Day Trial Of Corruption Cases, Bars Judges From Granting Stay Of Proceedings

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? In a bid to fast track the trial of alleged treasury looters, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, yesterday, ?directed Judges handing corruption cases to hear such matters on a day-to-day basis.

 

 The CJN said the National Judicial Council, NJC, would henceforth, descend heavily on any trial judge found to have stayed proceeding on any criminal ?matter before his court. Justice Mahmud who made the declaration while flagging-off the 2016 Refresher Course for judicial officers on current ?trends in law and administration of justice, said the measure became necessary in view of mounting criticisms against the Judiciary. Addressing participants at the 5-day workshop, comprising of judges from different states of the federation?, the CJN, said they must learn to “treat cases related to economic crimes and corruption with the necessary urgency”.

 

He maintained that the essence of the newly enacted Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, was to forestall situations where accused persons use frivolous interlocutory applications to frustrate their trial.

 

The theme of the workshop which is holding at the National Judicial Institute, NJI, in Abuja, is “Promoting Judicial Performance through Innovations and Reforms”. The CJN said: “The purpose of this Act is to ensure that the system of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crime and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim.

 

“My lords, as you all are well aware, the Judiciary has had to endure intense, largely unjustified and grossly uninformed criticisms regarding delay in the administration of justice.

 

“However, I am proud that the Judiciary was well ahead of the curve when the 2013 Practice Directions on Serious Crimes were adopted as the Directions were aimed at reducing criminal trial delays. “Nonetheless, the new Act strengthens our resolve as it provides that applications for stay of proceedings shall no longer be heard in respect of a criminal matter before the court. “This unprecedented provision puts a stop to the delays occasioned by interlocutory applications to stay proceedings pending appeal on preliminary matters when the substantive issues are yet to be tried on the merits. “Upon arraignment, the trial of the defendant shall proceed from day-to-day until the conclusion of the trial, while each party is entitled to only five adjournments not exceeding two weeks each.

 

Where the trial is still not concluded, the interval for adjournments will be reduced to seven days each. “As such, the Act provides a chance for all Judges to ensure speedy dispensation of justice and I expect that the provisions will be fully utilized. “I must similarly urge your lordships to treat cases related to economic crimes and corruption with the necessary urgency that the previously mentioned 2013 Practice Directions mandate us to apply.

 

“Judges must also be stringent in applying the law strictly in order to render justice in a satisfactory manner to all parties whether they are the state, the accused or the victim. “The negative effects of corruption have been experienced by every Nigerian in one way or the other. It also bears reminding that the Judiciary has been judged harshly and on the receiving end of allegations of corruption in its operations. “At this crucial time in our nation’s history, we must show the red card to corruption, while joining hands as patriotic citizens to campaign for zero-tolerance for corrupt practices within our courts.

 

“We must not forget our noble duty as Ministers in the Temple of justice to uphold the Rule of Law impartially and without fear. In order to establish and sustain public confidence in the judicial process, Judges must live above board, shun corruption, and avoid corrupt practices and misconduct. “It bears reminding that your lordships have sworn to adhere to your Oath of Office as contained in the 1999 Constitution and the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, 2003. “Indeed, let me re-iterate that where any Judicial Officer is found culpable of corrupt practice, you can be rest assured of the preparedness and resolve of the National Judicial Council to sanction such Judicial Officer appropriately”. ?He said the Supreme Court, in line with his reform agenda for the Judiciary, will soon stop sending or accepting manual and paper hearing notices and processes, to and from all lawyers practicing before the Court.

 

“Similarly, the Supreme Court infrastructure is being upgraded and the courtrooms retrofitted with modern court technology hardware to enable state of the art paperless operations to be tested, in advance of its eventual rollout to other jurisdictions in Nigeria”, he added. ?In her welcome address, the Administrator of the NJI, Justice Roseline Bozimo, stressed that “Law Reforms and innovations in the Judiciary are a necessity for the purpose of enhancing and promoting judicial performance”.

 

She said the Nigerian Judiciary has experienced innovations and reforms in recent times, prominent among which was the passing into Law of the ACJA, 2015.

 

“The high point of this Act is the merger of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) into one principal Federal Act, which apply uniformly in all Federal Courts. While preserving the existing criminal procedures, it introduces new innovative provisions that will enhance the efficiency of the Justice System.

 

“The main purpose of the Act include preventing unlawful arrest which had been one of the major problems of our criminal justice systems. By Section 10(1) of the CPA the Police could arrest without a warrant, any person who had no ostensible means of sustenance and who could not give a satisfactory account of himself.

 

“By this provision, people were arrested indiscriminately. The administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 has deleted this provision”, she added.

 

Credit : Vanguard

Kashamu: CJN Asks Appeal Court President To Probe Ogun Election Tribunal

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The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has directed the president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to investigate the conduct of the Ogun State National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal under the chairmanship of Justice Ebiowei Tobi.
This was contained in a letter dated November 19, 2015 with reference number NJC/ETD/B60/S.1/X1/955 by the CJN to the Appeal Court president.

 
The directive followed a petition written by the senator representing Ogun East at the National Assembly, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, alleging miscarriage of justice in the case instituted against his election by Mr. Dapo Abiodun, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the March 28, 2015 National Assembly election.

 
The CJN wrote in the letter, “I forward herewith a petition dated October 29, 2015 by Senator Buruji Kashamu against the Ogun State National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal under the chairmanship of Hon. Justice Ebiowei Tobi for your necessary actions, please.”

In the petition, Kashamu had said: “Upon receiving the certified true copy of the judgment after it was delivered, I found, to my utmost surprise, that the tribunal members ignored the facts of the case before them and descended into the arena.

“A careful perusal of the judgment vis-à-vis the pleadings of the petitioners showed that 91 out of the 110 polling units that the tribunal nullified were not even pleaded by the petitioners let alone evidence being led to them!
“Upon a study of the judgment, I discovered that the tribunal in a desperate attempt to assist the APC cancelled the result of 110 polling units many of which were not part of the polling units challenged by APC. Had the APC complained about these polling units in their petition, my lawyers would have been in a position to provide evidence in respect of those polling units.

“I was shocked because I am aware that the tribunal has no power to cancel polling units, which were not challenged in the petition before it.
“I was however more shocked when I discovered that the entries that the tribunal used in the judgment as the basis for its decision that there were irregularities and discrepancy in the scores of the parties in the INEC Forms EC8A (II) and EC8B (II) did not emanate from the result sheets and voters registers submitted to the tribunal in evidence.”
Kashamu, who expressed his confidence in the anti-corruption stance of the CJN, said he wrote to lodge the complaint about the conduct of the members of the tribunal and to request that the CJN use his good offices to carry out a thorough investigation of the matter and to ensure that anyone found culpable was prosecuted.

NJC gives Osun judge second query in six weeks

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The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has issued a fresh query to Justice Folahanmi Oloyede, based on a petition written against her to the National Judicial Council by the Osun Civil Societies Coalition.

The OCSC, in the petition signed by one Mr. Waheed Lawal and two others dated July 28, 2015, asked the NJC to investigate the judge following her petition to the Osun State House of Assembly where she accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of corruption.

A copy of the query, signed by the CJN and received by the judge last Wednesday, was made available to reporters in Osogbo on Wednesday.

The query with Ref. No. NJC/S.29/HC.OS/16/1/107, written to Oloyede through the Chief Judge of Osun State, Justice Adepele Ojo, and dated August 25, was said to have been delivered to the embattled judge last Wednesday.

An earlier query dated July 28, 2015 had been sent to the judge following a petition by a mother of four, Mrs. Emily Richard-Obire, who accused the judge of co-habiting with her husband.

The fresh query read, “Re: Request for investigation of Justice Oloyede Olamide Folahanmi.

“I forward herewith a petition, dated 28th July, 2015, against you by Comrade Waheed Lawal and two members of Osun Civil Societies Coalition, on the above subject matter.

“The petition speaks for itself. I shall be glad to have your comments within 14 days from the date of your receipt of this letter, please.”

The group asked the NJC to sanction Oloyode in order to prevent other judges, who might want to emulate her, by allegedly surrendering themselves to be used by politicians, to achieve their aims.

The OCSC accused Oloyede of partisanship and failure to conduct herself in a manner to preserve the dignity of her office.

The petition read, “The petition (against Aregbesola) contained statements calculated to incite the residents of the state against the state government and its elected officers. More bewildering are the words and language used by the petitioner and the brazing manner which caused the petition to be circulated to the public.

“It behoves on us to say that the words and language in the petition are unbecoming, maladroit and ungainly for the high standard of conduct expected of any judicial officer in this country.

“The magnitude of impropriety, of the form, dimension and concealed message of the petition violates every ethical standard devoted to the status of a judicial officer.

“If appropriate action was not meted on her (Justice Folahanmi), a floodgate will be opened and every willing and available judicial officer would soon become an instrument of use for the purpose of partisan politics.”

It will be recalled that the NJC six weeks ago queried Oloyede following a petition written against her by one Mrs. Richard-Obire, accusing her of snatching her husband.

However, another group, Civil Societies Coalition for Emancipation of Osun State which rose in defence of Oloyede said they had discovered that an Ikeja High Court had dissolved the woman’s marriage.

–Punch