Supreme Court of Nigeria intends to appoint eight new justices to bring the number of the juries to the required twenty one, and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has asked its members to indicate interest.
Supreme Court currently has 13 justices with eight vacant slots, and the long tradition (except on few occasions in the past), has been to elevate justices from the Court of Appeal to fill its vacant positions.
The move apparently this time, aims to fill the court’s bench to its full complement of 21 justices, a feat the court has never attained.
With the rank of its justices reduced to 13 since August last year, the court is barely getting along amid a mounting workload that is endlessly swollen with all kinds of appeals originating from all parts of the country.
In September last year, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, lamented how the plummeting number of justices was adding to the court’s workload burden.
Justice Ariwoola, as the head of the Supreme Court, has now, in line with practice, sent notices to the top brass of the legal profession to nominate candidates to fill available slots on the court’s bench.
After nomination and shortlisting, the names of those picked will be sent to the National Judicial Council (NJC) which is also chaired by the CJN.
It is the NJC that will then assess and interview the candidates, and send the list of successful ones to Nigerian President for appointment, subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.
Among those that have received the CJN’s requests for nominations in the preliminary stage of the appointment process are the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), heads of courts, and justices of the Supreme Court.
Under the current Nigerian constitution, lawyers with at least 15 years of call to the Nigerian bar are eligible to be appointed directly from the bar to the Supreme Court bench.
But, in the history of Nigeria, only Teslim Elias and Augustine Nnamani have had the opportunity to rise directly from the bar to the Supreme Court bench.
In 2017, in response to then acting CJN, Walter Onnoghen’s request for nomination, the NBA then led by Abubakar Mahmoud, had forwarded the names of nine lawyers for appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court.
They were: former President of the NBA, Olisa Agbakoba SAN, Anthony Ikemefuna Idigbe SAN, Yunus Ustas Usman SAN, Babatunde Fagbohunlu SAN, Miannaya Aja Essien SAN, Awa Uma Kalu SAN, Awalu Hamish Yadudu, Tajudeen Oladoja and Ayuba Giwa.
That was an exercise in futility, because these days, the process of appointment of judges and justices has become so competitive, more so when there are more than enough justices in waiting who are already qualified to be elevated.
Another issue is the regional balance. Supreme Court appointments are done to ensure regional spread. This principle is also applied to appointment of judges to the Court of Appeal and other federal courts.
See below the current Supreme Court justices and the regions they represent:
· Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) – Oyo State (South-west)
· Musa Dattijo Muhammad – Niger State (North-central)
· Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun – Lagos State (South-west)
· John Inyang Okoro – Akwa Ibom State (South-south)
· Chima Centus Nweze – Enugu State (South-east).
· Amina Adamu Augie – Kebbi (North-west)
· Uwani Musa Abba Aji – Yobe State (North-east)
· Mohammed Lawal Garba – Zamfara State (North-west)
· Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju – Ondo State (South-west)
· I.M.M. Saulawa – Katina State (North-west)
· Adamu Jauro – Gombe State (North-east)
· Tijjani Abubakar – Yobe State (North-east)
· Emmanuel Akomaye – Cross River State (South-south)
If they really want to satisfy the issue of federal character to balance the regional equation in the appointment, then the list above will be taken into consideration before filling the needed eight slots. It will then be good luck to all the eligible.