The number of Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria has continued to reduce without any replacement. This had continued to create a huge setback to adjudication of cases before the apex court. Even stakeholders in the judiciary sector had continued to express their concerns, writes TUNDE OYESINA
Concerns had continued to rise over the depleting number of justices on the bench of the Supreme Court as Justices are retiring with no replacement. By the provision of law, the apex court should have 21 justices. However, since a very long time, the number has not been completed. The only time the court has been close to that number was in 2020 when the bench had 20 justices. At the commencement of the 2022/2023 legal year, there were 17 justices on the bench of the apex court.
However, between May 2022 and October 2023, about seven justices of the apex court either retired voluntarily after attaining their mandatory retirement age or died. Currently, there are only 10 justices in the court, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. Others are Justices Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, John Okoro, Uwani Abba-Aji, Garba Lawal, Helen Morenikeji Ogunwumiju, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim.
The CJN consequently laid credence to this on Friday at the valedictory service held in honour of Justice Musa Datijjo who bowed out of the apex court bench at the mandatory age of 70 year. Others who have left the apex court bench are Justice Paul Galinje who retired on April 21, 2020, Justice Mary Peter Odili retired on May 13, 2022; followed by Justice Ejembi Eko on May 23, 2022. Justice Ibrahim Muhammed retired on June 27 and Justice Abdu Aboki retired in August, all in 2022. Justice Centus Chima Nweze died on July 30, 2023, Justice Amina Augie who retired in 2023 and Justice Musa Dattijo who retired on Friday.
Speaking on Friday, the CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola noted that the Supreme Court now having the lowest number of Justices in its history. According to him, the Apex Court is having only 10 Justices on its bench to tackle the heavy workload of pending cases. The CJN however assured that efforts are on top gear to elevate a sizable Justices to the bench of the Court.
“With Justices Musa Dattijo leaving us today after the retirement of Hon. Justice Adamu Amina Augie a few weeks ago, we are now left with just 10 Justices on the Supreme Court Bench; being the lowest we have ever had in contemporary history of the Court. “However, I can confidently assure all the litigant public that efforts are in top gear to get on board a sizable number of Justices to boost our rank and complement the tremendous effort we have been investing in the business of the Court”.
Justice Ariwoola had in another function lamented that the bench was over- laboured partly because of the litigious nature of Nigerians. Ariwoola said “political cases, especially, are taking a monumental toll on our dockets. Indeed, the times we are in are not pleasant, to say the least”. Also speaking at the 2022 swearing in of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria, the CJN noted that the Supreme Court is always under pressure due to the number of cases it is expected to handle and the manpower at its disposal.
He said: “Available facts on judicial activities in various jurisdictions across the globe still emphatically confirmed that the Supreme Court of Nigeria remains the busiest and most hardworking Supreme Court in the world. “It is on record that we work from Monday to Friday every week. We conduct sittings on a daily basis. It is only on Wednesdays that we do Chamber sitting to consider non-contentious matters.
On Fridays, we deliver judgments and rulings. We are humans and equally have blood running through our veins; if no one praises us, we have the inalienable right and obligation to praise and eulogise ourselves.” With a staggering 6,884 cases at the apex court, as the CJN noted, the number of the justices to determine the cases is depleting, thereby slowing down the wheels of justice. And as the legal maxim goes, ‘justice delayed, is justice denied’.
Speaking at her valedictory court session, Justice Amina Augie submitted that, “Something must change. This court is the apex court, and its final decisions shape society’s social order. Justices should be able to focus on what truly matters. “One remarkable day, we found ourselves entertaining an appeal in an unusual criminal case. Surprisingly, it was not the accused or convict that had filed the appeal; it was the State.
The case involved an incident of arson where 12 goats were set ablaze. “As we grappled with the load of pending judgments and the stack of files awaiting review for our upcoming conference – a sacred ritual in this Court- I could not help but voice my astonishment. I leaned over to my brother Justice and whispered, ‘with all that is on our plate, why would such a case come before us?’
“Our primary role here is to be a policy-making court. Something must change. This court is the apex court, and its final decisions shape society’s social order. Justices should be able to focus on what truly matters.” The Supreme Court in Nigeria, as in most countries around the globe, is the highest judicial authority in the country. It is often referred to as the court of last resort because its judgments are final and cannot be subjected to any review by another court.
According to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, Section 230 (2), the Supreme Court of Nigeria shall consist of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and such number of Justices of the Supreme Court, not exceeding twenty-one, as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. The Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) and subject to confirmation by the Senate.
There is no other person who can explain better that damage the depletion on the apex court bench is doing to the nation than Justices who are insider. Following the submissions of the Justices and what is obtainable to the public, stakeholders have argued that the excruciating conditions of the justices of the apex court would only be ameliorated with the appointment of more justices to fill the vacant positions. A law lecturer, Prof. Humphrey Etesike observed that the depletion of the court does not augur well for the administration of justice.
He, however, noted that there are many excellent justices of the Court of Appeal who should be elevated to the Supreme Court. In his words, “The justices are obviously overworked. The CJN recently lamented this. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi has equally hinted that efforts are underway to fill the vacancies. “There are many excellent Justices of the Court of Appeal who should be quickly processed for elevation to the Supreme Court.
The depletion of the court does not augur well for the administration of justice. “The names being considered are well known to the bar. These are excellent individuals who will strengthen the court, make weighty contributions to the administration of justice and make the legal profession and the nation proud. The earlier the processes were concluded the better for the administration of justice.”
A Right Activist and Analyst, Boboye Adedeji described the situation as unfortunate. He however noted that the appointment of justices to the bench of the apex court follows some processes and procedures. In his view, “It is a bit unfortunate because of the heavy workload on the remaining justices. But appointment to the court entails a process which must be on by now. I believe the relevant authorities are fully aware of the situation.”
The Nigerian Bar Association NBA recently demanded appointment of more Supreme Court justices. The NBA in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Akorede Habeeb reads in part, “The NBA President noted that it has become imperative that the Nigerian Constitution be amended to increase the threshold for the number of justices to be appointed to the Supreme Court and to reduce the number of matters that get to the Supreme Court by limiting the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to certain constitutional matters” There is no doubt that urgent filling up of the vacant seats on the apex court bench will go a long way to help the Justice system.
