Following the controversial resignation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Tanko Mohammed, The Senate has insisted that the committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matter will go ahead with its probe to arrive at a logical conclusion concerning the petition against him by the Supreme Court Justices The Red Chamber also tasked the committee to liaise with the three arms of government as well as the Bar and the bench to collect as much position on both the short and long-term measures needed to address once and for all the problems facing the judiciary.
According to the lawmakers, such positions should include immediate fiscal interventions as well as long-term bordering on budgetary allocation required by the judiciary for optimal performance as obtainable in other climes.
These were the resolutions of the Senate while deliberating on the matter as a follow-up to the motion raised by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central).
Quoting Order 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Orders 2022, as amended, Senator Bamidele recalled that the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had last week, drawn the attention of the chamber to media reports on the state of affairs in the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Bamidele noted that the poor welfare system in the Judiciary would certainly affect its performance in its service delivery to the generality of Nigerians.
Speaking further, Bamidele said, “The Judiciary, which is the epicenter of the temple of justice, should be preserved by the Senate through appropriate legislative measures to safeguard this highly revered institution and prevent it from being ridiculed.”
He revealed that the Committee as directed by the Senate President has commenced interface with relevant stakeholders at both Bar and the bench.
He made it clear that though the CJN has thrown in the towel, that does not mean the committee would not do its work, saying they will leave no stone unturned until it gets to the roots of the matter.
The committee chairman disclosed that “even though Justice Tanko Muhammed has stepped down as CJN, most of the issues raised by the Justices of the Supreme Court and other stakeholders within the Judiciary still remain and need to be addressed urgently to prevent an eventual shutdown of the Judiciary.”