The immediate past Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Onofiok Luke has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and approve the appointment of new justices to the court to meet its full complement of 21 Justices.
Luke, who is a Founding Partner, Meliora Law Partners, made the appeal in a statement issued on Wednesday noted that the judiciary is an important accompaniment to democracy, and anything that affects its smooth functioning, affects Nigeria.
He stressed that the appointment of new justices to the court to meet its full complement of 21 Justices would no doubt ease justice delivery and position the court to meet its core functions, and save the current Justices from unnecessary stress
The former lawmaker said though the cause of the demise of Justice Nweze who died on July 30 was yet to be determined, his untimely demise however once again brings to the fore the increased and ever-spending workload, and the stress the Justices of the Supreme Court are often exposed to.
Luke stressed that in view of its overstretched nature, some matters have lingered in the court for over 20 years, saying while all reasonable efforts to limit matters that get to the court, as it is obtained in other climes, have proved abortive.
He noted: “More worrying is the fact that despite the overstretched nature of the Supreme Court, the court is yet to attain its full complement of 21 justices. Disturbingly, two Justices of the court will be retiring in a matter of months.
“This leaves the court terribly short-handed and unable to optimally perform its adjudicatory functions, and more importantly, execute its policy-setting goal.”
Luke added that the situation is worsened given that this is post-election season, where the services of the court are often called upon.
He stressed that the effects of this unwholesome situation is unquantifiable, as it slows the justice administration and delivery to the people, while it might also reduce the quality of justice delivery to the people as the court lacks the needed and adequate manpower to thoroughly consider matters before it.
“It is in this vein that I plead with the President, His Excellency , President Asiwaju Tinubu, given its record as a democrat, to intervene and approve the appointment of new justices to the court to meet its full complement of 21 Justices. This will no doubt ease justice delivery and position the court to meet its core functions, and save the current Justices from unnecessary stress.”
Luke said it was imperative that the necessary stakeholders in the Nigerian project intervene to serve the judiciary, and indeed, the country.