Depleting Number of Supreme Court Justices Worries CJN

The rapid drop in the number of Justices of the Supreme Court, has become a major source of concern to Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola. The drop is a result of the retirement of the Justices who have reached the mandatory age of 70, but the CJN says the depletion of the number of Justices on the Supreme Court’s Vench burdens the court.

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, at a Valedictory ceremony of  retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Abdu Aboki,  Justice Ariwoola, said there are now very few Justices and the workload is heavy.

The Supreme Court had announced the exit of Justice Aboki, who hails from Kano State. He retired from the court on  August 5, 2022 having clocked the mandatory retirement age of 70. With Justice Aboki’s exit, the number of Justices on the Supreme Court Bench dropped to 13, falling short by eight, of the 21 Justices the Nigerian Constitution provides as the full complement of the court’s Bench.

“His Lordship’s exit from our fold has drastically depleted our ranks, and opened a yawning gap that will hardly be filled”, Justice Ariwoola said.

Recalling that the number of Justices plummeted from 17 at the dawn of 2022, the CJN further lamented that “a single drop in the number of Justices here, brings about a sudden increase in our workload”.

Reacting to the CJN’s concern, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), faulted the appointment process of Justices to the appellate courts.

Onomigbo Okpoko, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who spoke on behalf of BOSAN, said the “appointment process appears to have been designed and operated to exclude good and competent Lawyers” from being appointed Justices of appellate courts. He pointed out the policy of Nigeria’s geographical spread in public service appointments, as being “the foundation for the mediocrity and incompetence”.

Recalling the composition of the Supreme Court at Nigeria’s independence, Mr Okpoko said the Supreme Court was filled by five justices who hailed from the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups.

He said the replacements for English Judges at independence, were “picked from among the best Lawyers and Judges of the time”.

BOSAN queried the rejection of the nominations of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for appointment to the Supreme Court by the immediate-past CJN, Tanko Muhammad. 

In 2017, some accomplished Lawyers in the country were nominated by the NBA, for appointment on the Supreme Court Bench. But, the nominees comprising advocates and academics in the legal profession, never got to the Supreme Court.

“Agitation for Lawyers’ appointment to appellate courts won’t go away.” BOSAN said the Judges appointing authority, the National Judicial Council (NJC), which the CJN chairs, “should appoint the best candidates of our country to man the courts”.

“The agitation in this respect will not go away any time soon”, Mr Okpoko said.

Appointing Lawyers from the Bar directly to the Supreme Court Bench is a rare occurrence in Nigeria, even though it is supported by the Constitution. Mr Okpoko cited the appointment of Augustine Nnamani from the Bar to the Supreme Court Bench. He said “the appointment of appellate Judges is not a promotional exercise” that excludes Lawyers, adding: “the National Judicial Council ignores the pool of Lawyers from the Bar and academia, but “prefers to appoint candidates (to the appellate courts) on the basis that they have served…as Judges”.

Mr Okpoko expressed hope that the CJN and the NJC “will look into the matter favourably”.

#upjudicialsalaries

“The current condition of service of Judicial Officers in Nigeria, is pathetic. As at today, the salary of a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, is little above $1,000 (N705,000). This is the highest court of the land!!! The lower courts obviously receive less. This is grossly inadequate. I call for a quick and immediate improvement of salaries and conditions of service, of my Learned Brothers.” – Honourable Justice Abdu Aboki, JSC (Rtd)