The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Justice Mahmud Mohammed<\/p>\n
as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).<\/p>\n
The confirmation followed President Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s letter to the
\nparliament requesting Mohammed\u2019s appointment to be approved to replace
\noutgoing Justice Aloma Muhktar.<\/p>\n
Earlier Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egbe, the Leader of the Senate, had activated
\nRule 40 of the Senate Standing Rule to commence the screening of the new
\nCJN.<\/p>\n
Sen. Ike Ekeremandu, the Deputy Senate President, cashed in on the
\nproceeding to ask Mohammed some questions.<\/p>\n
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ekweremandu\u2019s questions were
\non the need for special courts, constitutional courts and the alleged
\ndwindling welfare of judges.<\/p>\n
Sen. James Manager (PDP-Delta) wanted Mohammed to provide answer to
\nalleged conflicting decisions across the country\u2019s courts.<\/p>\n
The senator also wanted Mohammed\u2019s position on current fusion of the
\noffices of Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of
\nJuctice.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Sen. Adeyeye Olusola (APC-Osun) had asked the incoming CJN
\nwhether It was compelling to appoint older justices as CJN.<\/p>\n
Responding, Mohammed said the country did not require special courts or
\nconstitutional court to administer
\nfair justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not support the call for special courts; the challenge of the
\ncountry\u2019s judicial System is mainly personnel and not the court structure.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria has one of the best judicial structures in the world but still
\nrequires the right quality of personnel to provide fair adjudication,\u2019\u2019 he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to him, \u201cthe structure of our court as presently constituted
\ncannot be said to be responsible for the backlogs of cases across the
\ncountry but rather should be hinged on prosecutors\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere should be no reason why a case should stay in court for more than
\nthree months,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
On whether the country should adopt a constitutional court, instead of the
\ncurrent Supreme Court used for the apex court, Mohammed said the status of
\nthe courts wwas the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a matter of nomenclature; the constitutional court is used in
\ncountries colonised by the French while countries that were under the
\nBritish use the supreme court.<\/p>\n
They have equal jurisdiction,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Mohemmed said \u201cthe country\u2019s Supreme Court has so far been exemplary and
\nthere may be no need to alter the name now,\u2019\u2019 Mohammed.<\/p>\n
Commenting on conflicting decisions from courts in recent times, Mohammed
\nsaid the rise in political litigations had brought pressure on lawyers and
\nthe courts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI accept that there has been a number of conflicting rulings and
\njudgments by judges.<\/p>\n
\u201c These are made possible as a result of interests. Some lawyers and
\njudges are responsible for this and it must be dealt with,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
On the fusion of the offices of the AGF and the Minister of Justice, he
\nsaid the two offices would serve the country best if separated.<\/p>\n
On why the country had appointed older Justices of the court as CJN,
\nMohammed said, however, that the constitution did not compel the President
\nto appoint only older justices.<\/p>\n
According to him, \u201cthe legal profession is hierarchical and therefore
\nmaintains seniorities in both the bench and the bar\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wisdom, knowledge and maturity required to head the apex court are
\nacquired through a long professional journey and before long you have
\nbecome old,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Commenting after the voice votes had affirmed Mohammed\u2019s nomination, the
\nSenate President, David Mark, expressed delight at the effort of the
\njudiciary to stabilise the country\u2019s democracy so far.<\/p>\n
Mark said the country would undoubtedly benefit from the appointment of
\nMohammed as the new CJN, saying \u201cthe judiciary is an important arm of
\nGovernment\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are conscious of the fact that it performs vital role in stabilising
\nour Society and our democracy,\u2019\u2019 Mark said.
\nEarlier, the Senate allowed the Trade Malpractice (Miscellaneous Offences)
\nAct 2011 (Amendment) Bill 2014 to scale through the first reading.<\/p>\n
NAN reports that the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2014 also scaled
\nthrough first reading.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the report of the committee on Agriculture and Rural Devel<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Justice Mahmud Mohammed as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). The confirmation followed President Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s letter to the parliament requesting Mohammed\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n