Time to confirm Onnoghen as CJN
Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen was sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on November 10, 2016 following Justice Mahmud Mohammed’s vacating the position having attained the mandatory retirement age of 70 years. This was in compliance with Section 230 (4) of the 1999 constitution as amended which provides that, […]
Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen was sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on November 10, 2016 following Justice Mahmud Mohammed’s vacating the position having attained the mandatory retirement age of 70 years. This was in compliance with Section 230 (4) of the 1999 constitution as amended which 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.” Onnoghen is the most senior justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Section 231 of the 1999 constitution as amended explicitly provides that the President shall appoint a person to the office of the CJN “on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.” The NJC had at its emergency meeting on October 11, 2016 recommended Justice Onnoghen to President Muhammadu Buhari, being the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, for consideration for appointment as CJN.
It is now over seven weeks since Onnoghen assumed duty as Acting CJN. This is the first time in recent years that the holder of the CJN’s office would serve in acting capacity for so long. Section 321 (5) of the 1999 constitution as amended stipulates that this acting appointment “shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment and the President shall not re-appoint a person whose appointment has lapsed.”
What this means is that if Justice Onnoghen is not confirmed as substantive CJN by February 11, he must leave office. Nor can the President re-appoint him in acting capacity. The delay in nominating him for Senate confirmation is therefore very serious and could get much worse. As Acting CJN Onnoghen can hardly unroll any plans he has for improving the judiciary. This is bad because Onnoghen became Acting CJN at a time when the judiciary is beset by allegations of corruption. A substantive CJN is therefore needed to tackle this cancer and work assiduously to deal with the problems that have accumulated in the judiciary over the years.
We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to move quickly and nominate Onnoghen for Senate confirmation in order to refute and neutralize the insinuation by some mischief makers that the presidency is plotting to deny a Southerner the opportunity of heading the apex court. Even though Department of State Services [DSS] agents raided the homes of judges and some are now being prosecuted for alleged corruption, Onnoghen was never mentioned as a suspect. If there was a case against him, he should not have been made Acting CJN in the first place. Considering that Justice Walter Onnoghen would have only about four years to serve if he is confirmed as CJN, it is important not to waste any more time in order to give him the full opportunity to carry out his vision of judicial reform.
Justice Onnoghen has, in the seven weeks he has served in acting capacity, spoken and acted well about what needs to be done to reposition the judiciary. Soon after assuming office, he warned judges against corruption and promised to flush out the bad ones among them. It is time for President Buhari to send his name to the Senate for confirmation as Chief Justice of Nigeria. The presidency has been known to drag its feet over many key appointments in the Executive Branch. It should not extend the same style to key judicial appointments.