The Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed the appointment of Justice Mahmud Mohammed as the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Mohammed will take over from Justice Aloma Mukhtar whose tenure expires on November 20 following the attainment of the mandatory retirement age of 70. The confirmation was sequel to a letter addressed to Senate President, David Mark, by President Goodluck Jonathan last week in which he urged the Senate to confirm the appointment of Justice Mohammed in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). According to the president, Mohammed’s appointment was in compliance with Section 231(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which he said gave him the powers to appoint CJN acting on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC). He therefore urged the Senate to treat the appointment with urgency. The CJN designate was, however, lucky as he was favoured by senators who allowed him to answer only three questions. Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egbe, the Leader of the Senate, had activated Rule 40 of the Senate Standing Rule to commence the screening of the new CJN. Sen. Ike Ekeremandu, the Deputy Senate President, cashed in on the proceeding to ask Mohammed some questions. Ekweremandu’s questions were on the need for special courts, constitutional courts and the alleged dwindling welfare of judges. Sen. James Manager (PDP-Delta) wanted Mohammed to provide answer to alleged conflicting decisions across the country’s courts. The senator also wanted Mohammed’s position on current fusion of the offices of Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Juctice. Similarly, Sen. Adeyeye Olusola (APC-Osun) had asked the incoming CJN whether It was compelling to appoint older justices as CJN. Responding, Mohammed said the country did not require special courts or constitutional court to administer fair justice. “I do not support the call for special courts; the challenge of the country’s judicial System is mainly personnel and not the court structure.” “Nigeria has one of the best judicial structures in the world but still requires the right quality of personnel to provide fair adjudication,’’ he said. According to him, “the structure of our court as presently constituted cannot be said to be responsible for the backlogs of cases across the country but rather should be hinged on prosecutors. There should be no reason why a case should stay in court for more than three months,’’ he said. When asked whether the country should adopt a constitutional court, instead of the current Supreme Court used for the apex court, Mohammed said the status of the courts was the same. “It is a matter of nomenclature; the constitutional court is used in countries colonised by the French while countries that were under the British use the Supreme Court. They have equal jurisdiction,’’ he said. The Senate President, David Mark commenting after the voice votes had affirmed Mohammed’s nomination, expressed delight at the effort of the judiciary to stabilise the country’s democracy so far. Mark said the country would undoubtedly benefit from the appointment of Mohammed as the new CJN, saying “the judiciary is an important arm of Government’’. “We are conscious of the fact that it performs vital role in stabilising our Society and our democracy,’’ Mark said. The Senate President, however, urged the new CJN to always do what was right to reposition the Judiciary, adding, “We are all conscious of the fact that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.”
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 20:03:13 +0000
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