THE Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, today, received a fresh order to probe the erstwhile Chief Justice, Tanko Muhammad over the allegations of corruption raised against him by some justices of the Supreme Court.
Fourteen Justices of the Supreme Court had recently levelled allegations of corruption against Tanko Mohammed, which the ex-CJN denied.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has then mandated the Committee led by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele to probe the allegations leveled against the ex-CJN and the crisis presently rocking the judiciary.
Lawan said, “ The chamber mandates the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to go ahead with its assignment in the quest to find a lasting solution to the matter by interacting with relevant stakeholders to address the complaints raised in the petition by the Justices of the Supreme Court.
The Senate “Mandate the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to interface with the relevant stakeholders in the three Arms of Government as well as at the Bar and on the Bench to collate aggregate views and positions on the short term, medium term and long term measures needed to decisively address the crisis facing the Judiciary, including the immediate fiscal intervention as well as long term and sustainable budgetary allocations, required for the optimal performance of the Judiciary, in line with global best practices; and urge the Senate to wish the Hon. Chief Justice well, following many years of meritorious service to the nation and to pray for his good health.”
The Senate noted that on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, Lawan drew the attention of the Senate to the media reports on the state of affairs in the Supreme Court of Nigeria, whereby Justices of the Court, through a petition signed by majority of them, raised issues bothering on deplorable welfare conditions and difficult working environment for the Justices, which was addressed to the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, National Judicial Council.
He also noted that the President of the Senate emphasised the need for the Senate to urgently step into the matter as any issue that concerns the Judiciary is an issue of urgent national importance that the Senate could not afford to sit idly by and allow to spiral out of control.
Justices of the Supreme Court had in a petition addressed to the immediate past CJN raised concerns over the deplorable welfare conditions and difficult working environment in the apex court.
Days after the development, Justice Muhammad resigned as the CJN on the grounds of ill-health, cutting short his tenure in office which was expected to last until 2023.
Barely a day after Muhammad’s resignation, President Muhammadu Buhari swore in Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as acting CJN, being the most senior justice of the apex court.
Addressing his colleagues during Tuesday’s plenary, Senator Bamidele who cited Orders 41 and 51 to move the motion drew the attention of the Senate to the assignment given to the committee at the last plenary, relating to the state of affairs of the Supreme Court.
The Senate, in its resolution, mandated the committee to go ahead with its assignment in the quest to find a long-lasting solution by interacting with relevant stakeholders to look into the complaints raised in the petition by the justices.
It also directed the committee to interface with relevant stakeholders in the three arms of government and other stakeholders and collate aggregate views and positions on the short-term, medium-term and long-term measures needed to decisively address the crisis facing the judiciary.
The lawmakers stated this to include the immediate fiscal interventions, as well as long-term and sustainable budgetary allocations required for the optimal performance of the judiciary in line with global best practices.
They also resolved to wish Justice Muhammad well after many years of meritorious service to the nation and to pray for his good health.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had last Tuesday directed the committee to get involved in the matter with a view to unravelling the root cause of the problem in the judiciary and how best the Senate could intervene to address the concerns raised by the justices.
