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CJN Advocates For
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Ibrahim Muhammad has advocated alteration of the Constitution to reduce the maximum number of Justices of the Supreme Court from the current 21 to 16. Justice Muhammad called for an increase in the number of Justices of Court of Appeal, which is currently pegged at 49 in Section 237 of the Constitution, to not less than 100.
He requested the age of anyone to be appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court should not to be less than 25 years of post-call to Bar.
The CJN also suggested that all the appeals from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court should be by leave of the apex court, with an additional requirement that the application for leave could be determined by three Justices of the Supreme Court, sitting in the chambers.
These form part of the 45-point proposals contained in the CJN’s submission on Thursday in Abuja before the Senate Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution by the CJN on behalf of the Judiciary.
In the 17-page submission, titled: ‘’Input by the Judiciary to the Proposed Alteration to the 1999 Constitution (as Amended),’’, the CJN asked that the Constitution be also amended for the seat of the Secretary of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to be placed at par with that of the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Justice Muhammed requested that the Constitution be further amended to state categorically that the CJN is the head of the Judiciary of the Federation.
He suggested that Section 230 of the Constitution be altered by substitution Paragraph (a) of the existing subsection (2), with a new paragraph (a), to read: “The Chief Justice of Nigeria,who shall be the head of the Judiciary of the federation.”
The CJN further wants Paragraph of the Section to be altered to replace the current provision of: “not exceeding 21,’’ in lines 1 to 2 of paragraph (b) of the existing subsection (2), with ‘’not exceeding 16.’’
The media aide to the CJN, Ahuraka Yusuf Isah, in a statement on Thursday, June 3, 2021 said Justice Muhammad, in his submission, also asked the National Assembly to alter the Constitution to mandate the National Judicial Council (NJC) to fix and review judges salaries every four years.
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