Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) has faulted the selection process of judges to the Supreme and Appeal courts to reflect geographical spread.
It called on the National Judicial Council(NJC), as the appointing authority, to appoint candidates based on merit.
BOSAN’s position was contained in its speech delivered by Thomson Okpoko (SAN) at the valedictory session in honour of retired Supreme Court justice, Abdu Aboki.
The body recollected how the Supreme Court in the past was manned by five Nigerian jurists who were from the Yoruba and Igbo tribes, but were the best in the country. It said basing appointments into the appellate courts on factors purely outside merit, had only succeeded in excluding the best creme of the country’s lawyers from the job.
It, therefore, called on the National Judicial Council(NJC), as the appointing authority, to jettison the policy of replacing a retired judge with another from the same state or zone.
“The body has said it times without number and in various fora that the method of selection of candidates for appointment of Justices in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal is unsatisfactory in the extreme. The appointment process appears to have been designed and operated to exclude good and competent lawyers in the legal profession from being appointed justices of our appellate courts.
“There are two aspects of this restrictive policy by the appointing authorities. The first is that the appointing authority appears to have established a policy that the vacancies created by exit of Justices of Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal are to be filled by picking a candidate from the state of the vacating justice only notwithstanding the availability of known better candidates readily at hand from other states or local government areas in case of judges at trial courts.”
BOSAN said the consequences of the above policy is that: “ By it, our nation, our citizens, foreign and local businessmen/ women who use and or are expected to resort to the courts of law for resolution of their problems in Nigeria are denied the opportunity of having their cases considered and decided by appellate courts manned by best legal minds, the nation can produced at any time. This is a very sad reflection on our nation and the nation’s judiciary.
“The policy of geographical spread in public service and in public service appointments is acknowledged today, to be the foundation for the mediocrity and incompetence in some areas of the public service of our nation… Justice knows no tribe and has no colour or religion. It has no specificed location because it is everywhere. Let no one put on the Nigerian judiciary the iron clad case restricting the appointment of our justices in the manner complained of.”
In his speech, the retired jurist, Aboki called on the National Assembly to consider amending the Constitution and other extant laws so that only appeals relating to the presidential election should come to the Supreme Court, while others should end at the Court of Appeal.
He said this would reduce the number of appeals coming to the Supreme Court, particularly in election related matters.
He equally called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee to review the requirements for the conferment of the rank of SAN to the extent that it will reduce unnecessary pressure on the court.
Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola hailed Justice Aboki as a specimen of doggedness, integrity and humility.
