JUDICIARY: NJC To Nominate New Justices Tomorrow

NATIONAL Judicial Council (NJC) will all things being equal, release the names of two new justices of the Supreme Court during its first quarterly plenary for 2016 which holds today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday).

According to a reliable source, four justices of the appeal court have been interviewed towards filling the vacuum created by the retirement of Justice Afolabi Fabiyi and Justice Muntaka Coomassie adding that Justices Ejembi Eko, Monica Dongban-Mensen, Amina Augie and Garba Lawal, were believably interviewed.

Justice John Fabiyi and Justice Muhammad Muntaka-Coomasie retired in November 2015 and February 10, 2016 respectively having reached the compulsory retirement tag of 70 years.

Expectedly, the NJC will after its plenary on Thursday forward its recommended candidates to the President Muhammadu Buhari pursuant to Section 231 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria, as amended, with vests the powers of appointing Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the President of the Federation, however subject to the confirmation by the Senate.

“The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the senate,” Sec 231 (2) CFRN.

It would be recalled that the number of the Supreme Court Justices dropped from 16 to 15 following the retirement of Justice Muntaka-Coomasie last week.

NJC is one of the Federal bodies created by virtue of Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. The Council is vested with enormous powers and functions, which no such Institution in the 1979 or any other previous Constitution had.

Its goals include entrenchment and preservation of an independent judiciary, commitment to the rule of law and to ensure a financial autonomy on the judiciary. Others are a proactive and vibrant judiciary that has Judicial Officers and Staff with proven integrity and impeccable character, a dynamic judiciary manned by officers with various backgrounds, discipline, experience and competence. In the same vein, to have a judiciary that is information technology driven, with the latest Court proceedings recording equipment and Case Management System (CMS).