As the battle over who succeeds Justice Isa Ayo Salami as the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) continues, some judges and stakeholders in the judiciary have thrown their weights behind the Acting President, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.
Justice Dalhatu Adamu is the next in line after Justice Salami but it was gathered that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar has some reservations about his appointment.
Some stakeholders and judges, who spoke with LEADERSHIP, are of the view that the appointment of Bulkachuwa should be confirmed as the substantive President of the court. According to them, Bulkachuwa has been able to stabilise the court, which has been in crisis over the years.
Some other arguments put forward by the judges for pushing for her confirmation is that she has been able to settle the contractors of the court and also take very good care of the welfare of the justices of the court.
A very senior lawyer, who spoke with LEADERSHIP but did not want his name in print said the leadership of the judiciary should be very careful in the way it handles the appointment of a substantive PCA so that the crisis does not get out of hands.
The lawyer said, “I want to say that we should emphasise merit and be careful about how we go about the appointment of the President of the court so that we do not find ourselves in another round of crisis.
Power play should not be part of the judiciary because seniority should not be considered above every other thing. But if there is any damning report on any of the justices jostling for the seat, it should be taken very seriously”.
Bulkachuwa has been acting as the PCA since November 24, 2012. Last week, she was nominated by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) for the position of the substantive PCA and she is the first woman to hold such position.
The nomination will be discussed at the next meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC), slated for January 23 and 24, 2014. Before she was nominated by the FJSC, LEADERSHIP gathered that the CJN was toying with the idea of bringing a justice of the Supreme Court (JSC) to head the intermediate court.
It was further gathered that apart from seniority, merit was also considered in arriving at the conclusion to nominate Bulkachuwa.
(Leadership)
Justice Dalhatu Adamu is the next in line after Justice Salami but it was gathered that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar has some reservations about his appointment.
Some stakeholders and judges, who spoke with LEADERSHIP, are of the view that the appointment of Bulkachuwa should be confirmed as the substantive President of the court. According to them, Bulkachuwa has been able to stabilise the court, which has been in crisis over the years.
Some other arguments put forward by the judges for pushing for her confirmation is that she has been able to settle the contractors of the court and also take very good care of the welfare of the justices of the court.
A very senior lawyer, who spoke with LEADERSHIP but did not want his name in print said the leadership of the judiciary should be very careful in the way it handles the appointment of a substantive PCA so that the crisis does not get out of hands.
The lawyer said, “I want to say that we should emphasise merit and be careful about how we go about the appointment of the President of the court so that we do not find ourselves in another round of crisis.
Power play should not be part of the judiciary because seniority should not be considered above every other thing. But if there is any damning report on any of the justices jostling for the seat, it should be taken very seriously”.
Bulkachuwa has been acting as the PCA since November 24, 2012. Last week, she was nominated by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) for the position of the substantive PCA and she is the first woman to hold such position.
The nomination will be discussed at the next meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC), slated for January 23 and 24, 2014. Before she was nominated by the FJSC, LEADERSHIP gathered that the CJN was toying with the idea of bringing a justice of the Supreme Court (JSC) to head the intermediate court.
It was further gathered that apart from seniority, merit was also considered in arriving at the conclusion to nominate Bulkachuwa.
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