The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has recommended nine senior lawyers for appointment as Supreme Court justices, it was learnt yesterday.
They include former NBA president Dr OlisaAgbakoba (SAN), former Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Prof Awa Kalu (SAN), Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), Yunus Usman (SAN) and BabatundeFagbohunlu (SAN).
The shortlisting was said to have been done by a committee chaired by NBA president Abubakar Mahmoud.
The full shortlist: Agbakoba, called to Bar in 1978, from Anambra State; Idigbe, called to Bar in 1983, from Delta State; Usman, called in 1983, from Kogi; and Fagbohunlu called to Bar in 1988, from Ondo).
Others are MiannayaajaEssien (SAN) (1985, Rivers), Prof Kalu (SAN) (1978, Abia), Prof AwaluYadudu (1979, Kano), TajudeenOladoja (1985, Kwara) and AyubaGiwa (1983, Edo).
They are among 89 lawyers who expressed interest, it was learnt.
Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen asked the NBA to nominate lawyers for appointment as justices of the Supreme Court.
NBA, therefore, called on lawyers to nominate suitably qualified candidates.
A January 30 “Notice to All Legal Practitioners”, signed by Mahmoud read: “Pursuant to Section 231(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria has invited the NBA to nominate suitably qualified legal practitioners to apply for appointment as Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“Interested legal practitioners are hereby required to send their hard copy profile…The deadline for the submission of profile shall be on 3rd February, 2017 at 5pm prompt.
“Please take note that this notice is urgent and important and the deadline shall not be extended.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Ogunba, expressed concern that appointing lawyers straight to the Supreme Court may kill the morale of judges and justices of the Court of Appeal who had been dreaming of being elevated.
Ogunba is also opposed to the appointment of someone from outside the Bench as a Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
He said: “I don’t think it’s good for the system to bring somebody from the outside who has never been a judge, and then he’s sitting at the uppermost echelon of the judiciary, just like that.
“The problem of incompetence could be solved, not by a kneejerk reaction of bringing somebody from the outside, but to put a template by which justices are appraised.
“It could be based on number of judgments. So if someone is junior to you in hierarchy surpasses you in terms of judgment output, ordinarily he should get it.
“When they do that, even the incompetent ones will sit up. The person you are bringing from outside who has not been tested on the job, are you sure of his output or quality?
“To cure that evil of non-performance, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to bring somebody from the outside.
“Again is the effect it will have on morale of other justices. There are too many justices of the Court of Appeal eyeing the Supreme Court, where the slot is even limited to 21 slots.
“If somebody has been deemed good enough to be appointed a judge, then he should be deemed good enough to be elevated.
“The only thing you should do if you don’t want to elevate him is to tell him to his face that he has not performed. Then you appoint someone that is less in rank. That is the way to go.”
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