The National Judicial Council (NJC) says it has obtained dying and retirement notices relating to 15 judges of various courts on the federal and state ranges.
According to an announcement by its Deputy Director (Information), Kemi Babalola-Ogedengbe, on Wednesday, the NJC acknowledged the notices at its 112th assembly held on 3 November.
According to the assertion, the council, chaired by Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, obtained notices of six retirements and 9 deaths of judges.
The checklist is made up of judges of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court as properly as the High Courts and the Customary Courts of Appeal of various states.
Two of the notices introduced the retirements of two Supreme Court justices inside a span of lower than two months.
Ibrahim Saulawa, who joined the Supreme Court bench in November 2020, already retired on 29 September, becoming a member of the roll of 103 former justices of Nigeria’s highest court docket.
Uwani Musa Abba Aji, elevated to the Supreme Court bench in January 2019, will comply with go well with on Saturday, 7 November.
It implies that, by Saturday, the Supreme Court bench will likely be two justices quick of its full complement of 21, which the court docket regained solely in February with the inauguration of Olubunmi Oyewole.
Four different retirement notices the NJC acknowledged at its assembly on Tuesday included Justice O. F. Omoleye of the Court of Appeal, who retired on 6 October.
Other retiring or already retired judges are Ogechi Okehielem, Abia State High Court, voluntarily retired on 15 September, Theresa Isidore Obot of Akwa Ibom State High Court, attributable to retire voluntarily on 30 December, Munir Muhammad Ladan of the Kaduna State High Court attributable to retire voluntarily on 31 December.
Deaths
The council additionally acknowledged notices of the deaths of 9 judges.
Accordign to the NJC, the judges handed away between 1 May and 26 September.
They embrace Mohammed Nasir Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Kano Division; Sambo Sammy Daka of the Kaduna State High Court; Josephine Efunkumbi Oyefeso of the Lagos State High Court, and Musa Mohammed Dallah, Nasarawa State High Court.
Others are Bello Muhammed Shinkafi of the Zamfara State High Court, Edem Nyong Okokon of the Cross River State High Court, Aliyu Mani Yauri, a kadi of the Kebbi State Sharia Court of Appeal, Dorothy Sim Inwulale of the Kaduna State Customary Court of Appeal, and Legor Torbira Senewo of the Rivers State Customary Court of Appeal.
Appreciation and condolences
The NJC “expressed profound appreciation” to the retired and retiring judicial officers “for their dedicated and meritorious service to the Judiciary and the nation”.
It additionally “prolonged its heartfelt condolences to the households of the deceased judges, the judiciary and the Nigerian authorized group, and prayed for the peaceable repose of their souls.
About full complement of Supreme Court bench
Although the Nigerian structure gives for a full complement of 21 justices for the Supreme Court, a full complement remained elusive for many years till 2024.
For a long time, justices’ deaths, retirements (together with voluntary ones), a sophisticated appointment course of, and a scarcity of dedication from the chief arm of authorities made it unimaginable for the Supreme Court to achieve its full complement.
The court docket reached its full complement for the primary time in its historical past months after the quantity of its serving justices had declined to an all-time low of 10 in 2023.
The quantity leapt to the total complement of 21 on 26 February 2024 with the elevation of 11 justices to the Supreme Court bench in a single fell swoop.
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Again, it dropped to twenty in August that 12 months following the retirement of CJN Olukayode Ariwoola. It rebounded to its full complement of 21 with the elevation of Mr Oyewole to the Supreme Court bench in February this 12 months.
At Mr Oyewole’s inauguration on 25 February, the CJN, Ms Kekere-Ekun, who administered the oaths to him, described the attainment of the Supreme Court’s full complement as “no small milestone.”
“A full court docket enhances our capability to take a seat in sturdy panels, to handle our docket extra effectively.
“It will be sure that the enterprise of the nation’s apex court docket proceeds with renewed vigour and dispatch. It enriches mental range, and reinforces the soundness of our jurisprudence.
“For a court whose pronouncements shape the legal destiny of the nation, numerical completeness is structurally significant to the effective discharge of our constitutional mandate.,” she stated.
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