A retiring justice of the Supreme Court, Musa Dattijo Muhammad, has alleged that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, abused the authority of his position.
Muhammad allegedly withdrew from the seven-member panel responsible for dismissing all appeals attempting to oust Tinubu from office.
He also said that the seven-man panel that dismissed all the appeals that sought to remove Bola Tinubu from office was not well constituted as it did not have members from all the geopolitical zones of the country.
Justice Muhammad, who spent 47 years in active judicial service, bowed out of the apex court bench on Friday, having clocked the 70-year mandatory retirement age.
He used the opportunity of a valedictory session that was organized in his honour by the Supreme Court to address what he observed as rots in the judiciary that had continued to affect the justice delivery system in the country.
He said that the CJN, as the chairman of several judicial bodies, such as the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), the National Judicial Institute (NJI), and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), had too much power and influence over the appointment and discipline of judges without consulting or seeking the counsel of other justices.
He said, “As Chair of NJC, FJSC, NJI and LPPC, appointments as council, board, and commitment members are at his pleasure. He neither confers with fellow justices nor seeks their counsel or input on any matter related to these bodies. He has both the final and the only say. The CJN has the power to appoint 80 percent of members of the council and 60 percent of members of the FJSC. The same applies to NJI and LPPC. Such enormous powers are effortlessly abused. This needs to change. Continued denial of the existence of this threatening anomaly weakens effective judicial oversight in the country.”
He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the current composition of the bench of the apex court, alleging that the refusal to fill the vacant slot of South East on the apex court bench was deliberate, blaming it on “absolute powers vested in one person.” He said that this violated Section 231(2) of the Constitution, which provides that “the appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on recommendation of the NJC, subject to confirmation by the Senate.”
He said that this situation had resulted in a situation where some justices were overburdened with cases while others were idle. He said that this was unfair and unjust to both the justices and litigants.
He also lamented that some justices were not given adequate opportunity to preside over cases or write lead judgments, saying that this was detrimental to their career development and intellectual growth.
He urged his colleagues to speak up against these anomalies and demand reforms in order to restore confidence and credibility in the judiciary.
The Supreme Court panel on Thursday dismissed appeals by Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party and affirmed the victory of Bola Tinubu as Nigerian president to mixed reactions from Nigerians. The panel was headed by Justice Ariwoola and comprised Justices Tanko Muhammad, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Ejembi Eko, Amina Augie, Uwani Abba-Aji, and Samuel Oseji.