President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to screen and confirm 11 justices recommended for the Supreme Court bench.
Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on Wednesday.
The National Judicial Council, NJC, had recommended 11 nominees to the President for Supreme Court appointment.
The 11 candidates were shortlisted from 22 Court of Appeal Justices screened by the NJC headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
The PUNCH reports that the Supreme Court currently has 10 Justices as opposed to the 21 constitutionally recommended. The situation had become a matter of public concern, particularly as only four out of the six geo-political zones of the country are represented on the Supreme Court bench.
While the South-West and North-East have three Justices each; the South-South and North-West have two each. But the South-East and the North-Central have no representation.
The two zones lost their last representatives on the Supreme Court bench with the retirement of Justice Muhammad Dattijo from Niger State, (North-central), in October, and the death of Justice Centus Nweze from Enugu State (South-East) in July.
The 11 shortlisted Justices, whose names were contained in Tinubu’s letter to the Senate, included Justice Haruna Tsammani (North-East); Justice Moore Adumein (South-South), Justice Jummai Sankey (North-Central), Justice Chidiebere Uwa (South-East) and Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (South-East).
Others are Justice Obande Ogbuinya (South-East), Justice Stephen Adah(North-Central), Justice Habeeb Abiru (South-West), Justice Jamilu Tukur (North-West), Justice Abubakar Umar (North-West) and Justice Mohammed Idris (North-Central).
The Senate President referred the nominees to the Senate Committee on Judiciary for screening and further legislative input.
If all the recommended Justices are confirmed, the South-East and the North-Central will each have three representatives on the Supreme Court bench.
