Justice Tijjani, Others, Make NJC's Recommendation List For Supreme Court Appointment

 

The NJC has recommended the members of the last year’s presidential election petition court for the Apex Court's appointment. This recommendation was made known to President Muhammadu Buhari, for appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court.

The five-man court was headed by Justice Abdu Aboki and  Justice Mohammed Garba. 

Furthermore, the other two that made the list of four candidates suggested for appointment as Justices of the apex court are Justices Tijjani Abubakar and Mohammed Saulawa.

According to a statement by the Director of Information of the National Judicial Council, Mr Soji Oye, disclosed on Friday that while Justice Abubakar represented the North-East Zone on the apex court’s bench, the rest of Justices Garba, Aboki and Saulawa, are to represent North-West.

Additionally Mr. Soji Oye made it known that the current 12 Justices, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, comprised two Justices from North Central, one from the North-East, one from North-West, three from South-East, one from the South-South and three from the South-West.

You will recall that Justice Garba led the five-man Presidential Election Petition Court which heard the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of Buhari at the last year’s poll and in a unanimous decision, the court dismissed Atiku’s petition and affirmed Buhari’s victory at the poll.

Subsequently, the judgment was affirmed by a seven-man panel of the apex court, laying the dispute with respect to that election to rest.

Currently, the Supreme Court, has 12 Justices on its bench, and has been experiencing a constant decline in the number of the Justices in the last two years.

Despite the fact that there has been persistent decline in the number of Justices, President Buhari refused to attend to the list of four Justices comprising Justices Adamu Jauro, Emmanuel Agim, Sam Oseji, and Helen Ogunwumiju, recommended to the President for appointment to the apex court’s bench since October last year.

However, the newly recommended four nominees will add to the previous four, which will make a new list of eight candidates recommended for appointment to the apex court’s bench.