All is now set for screening of the 22 justices nominated the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) to fill vacant seats on the Supreme Court Bench and the National Judicial Council (NJC), LEADERSHIP has learnt.
A source who is in the know told our correspondent yesterday that the panel set up to interview the justices will begin its sitting at the boardroom of the NJC today.
According to the source, the sitting of the panel will last for about a week before the final selection of 11 justices that will fill the vacant positions from among the 22 nominees will be made.
“The panel that will interview the 22 justices will begin sitting tomorrow (today). Of course, the sitting will last for about a week, it’s not a one day sitting. All the affected justices have been contacted. It is after the interview that a final selection of 11 justices will be made,” the source who did not want his name in print said.
This is just as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, assured that the Supreme Court will soon have the constitutionally prescribed full complement of 21 Justices.
Speaking at a special session to mark the commencement of the 2023/2024 legal year and swearing-in of newly conferred Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANS), the CJN said the litigant public will heave a sigh of relief within a short time.
Among those conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, at the elaborate ceremony in Abuja are Mrs Olayemi Badewole, wife of Major General Badewole (rtd); Mrs Funmi Falana; Olukayode Ajulo; Mr Adeola Adedipe and many others.
At the event, the CJN harped on the need for respect for the rule of law and the holistic independence of the judiciary, lamenting that “the Judiciary, as it is today, is more deserving of public trust and confidence than ever before.
The CJN said if the faith of the people is to be maintained in the Judiciary, then judges must be above board, delivering justice without fear or favour.
“So, I admonish all of us to always be impartial in all our judgments. I am saying all these now because I will never have this great privilege and opportunity to address the galaxies of legal luminaries, judicial icons and distinguished personalities in the justice sector of our dear nation in another legal year of the Supreme Court as Chief Justice of Nigeria in my entire lifetime again,” he said
Observing that efforts were made by his predecessor to increase the number but was unsuccessful, he stated: “As soon as I assumed office on June 27, 2022, I immediately got down to work on this urgent and immediate need in particular.
“Though we have not gotten them on board yet, I can convincingly assure the litigant public that within a very short while, the Supreme Court of Nigeria will, for the very first time in its history, get the constitutionally-prescribed full complement of 21 justices.
“However, that joyful moment soon paled into lamentation and intense complaints of some sorts from various quarters, as the trend experienced a sudden reversal, owing to the un-fanciful gale of retirement that soon hit the Court, which has, for the very first time in a very long while, brought the number of our honourable justices to an all-time low of just 10 Justices.
“Efforts were made by my predecessor to increase the number but that was unsuccessful before he left office. However, the cherry on the news is that as soon as I assumed office on the 27th day of June, 2022, I immediately got down to work on this urgent and immediate need in particular.
“Though we have not gotten them on board yet, I can convincingly assure the litigant public that within a very short while, the Supreme Court of Nigeria will, for the very first time in its history, get the Constitutionally-prescribed full complement of 21 justices.
“That is one of the legacies I have been working assiduously to leave behind as it now seems that the Court has been somewhat ‘jinxed’ from meeting its Constitutional requirement since that piece of legislation was enacted several years ago.”
While admonishing Nigerians on the imperative of being less litigious and be more disposed to alternative dispute resolutions to free the courts from some unnecessary cases which are over-stretching both human and material resources, the CJN called for the amendment of the law to end most appeals at the Court of Appeal, which he said is competent, dexterous and well-equipped with the right materials and manpowered to adjudicate effectively and resourcefully.
He continued: “In every dispute, only one party must win; and winning could come after intense legal fireworks that is transparent and based solely on subsisting laws of the land.
“We cannot import foreign laws to try our cases here, as some litigants would erroneously and desperately want us to do in the quest to get victory.
“If we really want to make progress as a nation and collectively build a virile legal framework that will serve our interest to the best of its ability, we must begin to have a change of attitude. We are not only here to celebrate the new legal year but to equally speak truth to ourselves and also purge ourselves of most of our wrongdoings and misadventures”.