The disclosure last week of the depleting number of justices of the Supreme Court, which is negatively affecting their ability to deliver on their constitutional mandate as the court of last instance, is quite worrisome. This is as Justice Amina Adamu Augie formally bowed out of Nigeria’s apex court, with a call on the National Assembly to carry out a holistic amendment of the 1999 Constitution to enhance the effective functioning of courts in the country.
Speaking at a valedictory court session in Abuja in her honour as she retired from the Supreme Court Bench after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 years for judicial officers, Justice Augie urged the Godswill Akpabio-led 10th National Assembly to make it a point of duty to amend the constitution to free the courts from undue hardships hindering their effective performance.
The erudite jurist said justices of the Supreme Court, as the apex court of the land with final decisions to shape society’s social order, should be able to focus on what truly matters – issuing directives for formulating specific policies or amending existing ones – to better serve their intended purposes.
“But how can they do that when they are drowning in overwhelming caseload. The only way forward, as highlighted by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, during the special session marking the commencement of the 2022/2023 legal year, is to amend the Constitution to restrict the circumstances under which appeals can reach the Supreme Court.
“This marks the final instance where my voice will be heard in any court and I wish to use this opportunity to directly address the 10th National Assembly, through Distinguished Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who was once my student at the Law School.
“I had the privilege of teaching him evidence and I trust that he learned well. Hence, it should be evident to him that swift action is needed from the 10th National Assembly to accomplish what others could not – amending the Constitution to enhance the functioning of our courts in Nigeria,” she said.
Justice Augie implored the National Assembly to undertake the necessary constitutional amendments so that the Supreme Court and its justices can be freed from the constraints that impede their ability to fulfill their mandate of upholding the rule of law, justice and democracy.
Following increasing workload, as a result of the depleting number of Justices of the Supreme Court, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the federal government was prepared and ready to strengthen the apex court to attain the required number of justices as stipulated in the constitution.
Speaking at the special court session, Fagbemi said the federal government acknowledged the sacrifices and the working conditions of the current justices of the Supreme Court and other judges in Nigeria. “The President Bola Tinubu government shall guarantee excellent conditions of service and remunerations good enough to appreciate the onerous duties of judicial officers at all levels.
“While we appreciate the urgency in reviewing the remuneration of judicial officers, which had not been done for over a decade, as an integral component of our judicial reforms, we are also appreciative of the greater goal of ensuring true independence for the judiciary which can only be achieved through a comprehensive and sustainable reform process that requires attention to details.”
It is instructive that the CJN had recently decried the workload put on judges due to the high number of political litigations in the country. Ariwoola, who spoke during the swearing-in ceremony of nine new justices of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, said political cases “are taking a monumental toll on our dockets. The times we are in are not pleasant.”
Between May 2022 and September 2023, about six justices of the apex court had either retired voluntarily after attaining their mandatory retirement age, or died. Justice Mary Peter-Odili retired on May 13, 2022. She was quickly followed by Justice Ejembi Eko on May 23 and former CJN, Ibrahim Muhammad, on June 27, and then Justice Abdu Aboki in August.
Justice Centus Chima Nweze of the Supreme Court passed away in July 2023 and now Justice Augie will be bowing out as a Justice of the court.
Meanwhile, Mr Abdul Balogun, SAN, called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to do the needful by replacing the justices to aid speedy dispensation of justice. He said the apex court justices already have so much in their hands and can no longer afford to have their numbers reduced.
It beggars belief that the apex court, which should, according to the constitution, be composed of, at least, the CJN and 21other justices, could be allowed to deplete to just 11 justices, about half of its manpower. This situation is, indeed, as undesirable as it is intolerable. The judiciary is, without a doubt, the most critical arm of government, irrespective of whether it is a dictatorship or democracy. This underscores why the judiciary should not be treated with disdain or ignominy. We, therefore, urge the Akpabio-led National Assembly to heed the call of Justice Augie and immediately begin the process of amending the constitution with a view to strengthening the courts.
