The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed will this morning bow out of the Bench of the Supreme Court after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70years But he will be doing so without a successor. This is because President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to appoint a successor.
By virtue of Section 231 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it is the prerogative of the president to appoint a CJN.
Section 231 (1) explicitly provides that, “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.”
The National Judicial Council had during one of its meeting about a month ago recommended Justices Walter Samuel Onnoghen, for consideration for appointment as CJN.
Going by precedent, the most senior justice has been appointed CJN.
In law, the president is not bound to accept his nomination, he also can not bypass the council in making the appointment.
If for any reason, the president does not want to appoint the recommended justice, he is at liberty to ask the NJC to recommend to him another suitable candidate for the office.
Section 230 (4) of the Constitution is also instructive. It provides that, “If the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions, the president shall appoint the most senior justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Sebastian’s Hon, last week called on the president to act with dispatch and ensure that the name of the next Chief Justice of Nigeria was forwarded to the Senate for clearance.
“The tenure of office of the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, will expire at 12 midnight on 9th November, 2016.”
By Kunle Olasanmi
The Leadership News
