Musa Dattijo Muhammad, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, has accused Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola of Nigeria (CJN) of misusing his official authority.
In a farewell session held in his honor, Justice Muhammad, who retired from the bench of the Supreme Court on Friday after 47 years of active service, made the accusation.
He claimed that the CJN, which typically takes decisions without seeking input from other justices, has a great deal of power because of the way the judiciary is now set up.
In the current organizational structure, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) is the Chairman of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), which appoints Senior Advocates of Nigeria, and the NJC, which is in charge of both the appointment and discipline of judges.
“It is my well-considered belief that no single person should be responsible for these bodies’ oversight functions. It is stated that someone with total power corrupts completely and easily.
In addition, Justice Muhammad claimed that it was intentional not to appoint someone to the South East bench seat on the top court, citing “absolute powers vested in the office of the CJN.”
He said that the North Central Zone, which he represented, would lose a justice to the Supreme Court upon his retirement.
On May 23, 2022, my lord, Hon. Justice Ejembi Eko JSC, who also served as the zone’s representative, retired. Now, a year and five months have passed. No substitute has been found.
“The South East has no representation at the Supreme Court as of July 29, 2023, with the passing of my lord, Hon. Justice Chima Centus Nweze, JSC. On March 7, 2021, my lord, Hon. Justice Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta JSV, passed away. For the South East, no appointment has been made in his place.
Currently, the Supreme Court is composed of representatives from just four geopolitical regions: the North-West, South-South, North-West, and North-East.
“The North-West and South-West are fully represented with three justices apiece, whereas the South-South and North-East only have two judges sitting.
Since then, appropriate action may have been taken to fill the apex court’s open positions. Why haven’t these actions been taken sooner?
“It is obvious that the decision to leave the court’s vacancies unfilled was made on purpose. It all comes down to the CJN’s office having total authority and using that authority irresponsibly.
In addition, Justice Muhammad bemoaned the inadequate funding and welfare of judges, noting that although the budgetary allotment for the court had grown from 70 billion in 2015 to 165 billion at present, “the quality of service the judiciary renders and the welfare of judges and officers have continued to decline.”
He continued by saying that allegations of corruption and the perversion of justice were the driving forces behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s order in 2016 to authorize the invasion of homes and the arrest of particular judges.
“Not satisfied, the administration harassed, detained, and charged the Chief Justice in 2019 for allegedly engaging in unscrupulous behavior before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
After all, it seemed that he had negotiated his retirement and was eventually let off the hook.
In a letter from 2022 that all other Supreme Court justices, including the Chief Justice at the time, signed, the resentful expressed their displeasure with the Chief Registrar and the head of the court.
In the end, His Lordship Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad resigned, purportedly due to illness.
“It is evident that the judiciary I am leaving behind is very different from the one I freely entered and wanted to serve and be associated with, my lords, distinguished invitees, ladies, and gentlemen. The organization is now something different.