A retiring Supreme Court Justice, Musa Dattijo Muhammad, has accused the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, of abusing the powers of his office.
Justice Dattijo, who bowed out of the apex court bench on Friday after 47 years in active judicial service, made the allegation in a valedictory session organised in his honour.
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He said that the judiciary, as presently structured, gave so much power to the CJN, who he said usually makes decisions without consulting other justices.
“As presently structured, the CJN is Chairman of the NJC, which oversees both the appointment and discipline of judges; he is also Chair of the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), the National Judicial Institute (NJI), and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) that appoints Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
“In my considered opinion, the oversight functions of these bodies should not rest on an individual alone. A person with absolute powers, it is said, corrupts easily and absolutely.”
Justice Muhammad also alleged 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 the office of the CJN.”
He said that with his retirement, the North Central Zone, which he represented, would no longer have a Justice on the Supreme Court bench.
“My lord, Hon. Justice Ejembi Eko JSC, who also represented the zone, retired on May 23, 2022. It has been a year and five months now. There has not been a replacement.
“With the passing of my lord, Hon. Justice Chima Centus Nweze, JSC on July 29, 2023, the South East no longer has any presence at the Supreme Court. My lord, Hon. Justice Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta JSV, died on March 7, 2021. There has not been any appointment in his stead for the South East.
“As it stands, only four geopolitical regions—the South-West, South-South, North-West, and North-East—are represented in the Supreme Court.
“While the South-South and North-East have two serving justices, the North-West and South-West are fully represented with three each.
“Appropriate steps could have been taken since to fill outstanding vacancies in the apex court. Why have these steps not been timed?
“It is evident that the decision not to fill the vacancies in the court was deliberate. It is all about the absolute powers vested in the office of the CJN and the responsible exercise of the same.”
Justice Muhammad also lamented the poor funding and welfare of judges, saying that the budgetary allocation for the judiciary increased from 70 billion in 2015 to 165 billion presently. “Justices and officers welfare and the quality of service the judiciary renders have continued to decline.”
He said that it was allegations of corruption and perversion of justice that informed President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to order the invasion of homes and the arrest of some judges in 2016.
“Not done. In 2019, the government accosted, arrested, and arraigned the incumbent Chief Justice before the Code of Conduct Tribunal for alleged underhand conduct.
“With his retirement apparently negotiated, he was eventually left off the hook.
“In 2022, in a letter signed by all other justices of the Supreme Court, including the current Chief Justice, the aggrieved protested against the shabby treatment meted out to them by the head of court and the Chief Registrar.
“In the event, his lordship, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, disengaged ostensibly on grounds of ill-health.
“My lords, distinguished invitees, ladies, and gentlemen, it is obvious that the judiciary I am exiting from is far from the one I voluntarily joined and desired to serve and be identified with. The institution has become something else.”