Alleged Delay of Appointments Of Supreme Court Justices – Access

30 Nov. 2023

Chief Justice of Nigeria; Chairman, National Judicial Council,
Supreme Court Complex, Three Arms Zone
Central District,
Abuja.

Thro:
The Secretary
National Judicial Council

Your Lordship,
PETITION TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS TO THE EFFECT THAT DELAYS OF APPOINTMENTS OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICES WERE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

Access to Justice sends Your Lordship warm greetings.

Your Lordship would recall, that, speaking at the valedictory ceremony marking his retirement from judicial service, Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammed (rtd) (CFR) asked, among other questions: why have longstanding vacancies at the Supreme Court not been filled till this time. Justice Dattijo Mohammad (CFR) was widely reported to have said at the said occasion, as follows:
“Appropriate steps could have been taken since to fill outstanding vacancies in the apex court. Why have these steps not been timeously taken?
“It is evident that the decision not to fill the vacancies in the court is deliberate.
The full text of the speech is found here [https://www.channelstv.com/2023/10/27/full-text-of-justice-dattijos-speech-on-cjns-powers-state-of-the-judiciary-other-matters/

Hon. Justice Dattijo Muhammad (CFR) was, until his retirement, the second most senior justice of the Supreme Court and Deputy Chairperson of the National Judicial Council (NJC), the body responsible for recommending candidates for appointments into superior courts of Nigeria.

Your Lordship, the claims made by Hon. Justice Dattijo Muhammad (CFR) were unflattering, and question the integrity of the NJC, its leadership, the credibility of the entire judicial institution and the perception of its being a non-partisan, unbiased and independent institution. The assertions will, if true, also contribute to the erosion of public trust in, and respect for the Judiciary. There are noticeably more unpalatable public comments about Nigeria’s Judiciary now in public spaces, with epithets and tropes such as “rotten” being applied to the Judiciary and the Supreme Court. Many judicial officers who serve conscientiously will be hurt by such negative public impressions.

When considered against the backdrop of other comments Hon. Justice Dattijo Muhammad (rtd.) (CFR) made within the context of the Supreme Court’s presidential election appeals hearing and bench, it could be implied he was suggesting that the delays in filling Supreme Court vacancies were both pre-meditated and politically-motivated.
Justice Dattijo Muhammad’s assertions take on more troubling significance because they have not, till now and as far as we know, been denied or repudiated publicly, and this will lead many people to think they are true. This is why, in our respectful opinion, it is of utmost importance to interrogate those claims and determine whether they are meritless. Unless a credible, impartial and thorough investigation of his allegations are carried out, which results in a credible rejection of them, it will be difficult, we respectfully submit, to erase the impressions that have formed in the minds of reasonable people to the contrary, particularly given that the Judiciary has not furnished any rebuttals of its own.

Your Lordship will also recall a precedent set by the NJC in 2011 when it received petitions asking it to determine the truth of allegations made by a former President of the Court of Appeal, to the effect that a former Chief Justice of Nigeria sought to manipulate his appointment to the Supreme Court against his will and for politically-motivated purposes. The NJC in that case set up a panel to investigate the allegations which determined the allegations and reported back to the NJC. Given similar allegations, this time by a retired Supreme Court Justice, it is fitting that the NJC follows its earlier precedent and to undertake a prompt and independent investigation into the claims made to the effect that appointments to the Supreme Court have been politicized.

Given the circumstances, Access to Justice petitions the NJC and respectfully urges as follows:
That it, [the NJC] undertakes an immediate, impartial and thorough inquiry into the question whether delays in progressing judicial appointment processes to fill existing vacancies in the Supreme Court were politically-motivated or were influenced by other motive, as Hon. Justice Dattijo Mohammad (rtd) (CFR) has alleged;
1.    For the purpose of deliberating this Petition, that the NJC should adopt special procedures to promote transparency and fairness, so that the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court who serves as Deputy Chairman of the NJC presides over the NJC Session where this petition may be considered,
2.    That a report of any inquiry conducted on this petition be made public so that there is public clarity about the merit of the allegations made by Hon. Justice Dattijo Muhammad (CFR).

We thank His Lordship for his consideration and offer His Lordship the assurances of our high regards.

Yours sincerely,

Joseph Otteh
Convener, Access to Justice.

Cc
Deputy National Chairman
National Judicial Council