Apex Court
CJN demands NJC’s involvement in fixing, reviewing of judge’s salary
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, has admonished the National Assembly to alter the constitution to mandate the National Judicial Council (NJC) to be involved in the fixing and reviewing of salaries and other emoluments of judges in the country. The CJN, who decried the non review of their salaries in the last 13 years by the Salaries and Wages Commission, also asked for the review of their salaries every four years. He also wants the NJC to collect, control and disburse all monies, capital and recurrent for the judiciary. Justice Muhammad’s demands were contained in the paper he presented as part of recommendations on behalf of the Judiciary at the national public hearing by Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution held at the Africa Hall of the Inte...
De-registration: Supreme Court judgement binding only on NUP – CUPP
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has insisted that the recent Supreme Court judgement affirming the de-registration of 74 political parties is only binding on the National Unity Party (NUP). CUPP maintained that the judgment does not, in any way, bind on the 22 political parties which got victory at the Court of Appeal as they are not parties before the Supreme Court in NUP’s case and their prayers before the courts are also different. On August 10, 2020, the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/507/2020, between Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) & 21 others, and Attorney General of the Federation & INEC ruled that the de-registration of the 22 political parties was unconstitutional and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to relist the...
House rejects bill seeking to reduce cases in Supreme Court
The House of Representatives yesterday voted out a bill seeking to limit the category of litigations that can be appealed at the Supreme Court. The intention of the bill was to reduce the workload on the apex court, and speed up justice delivery. The lawmakers at the plenary yesterday considered for second reading, ‘A Bill for An Act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (First Alteration) Act, 2010; and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Second Alteration) Act, 2010, to make appeals to the Supreme Court to be by leave in order to reduce workload on the court, expedite hearing and determination of appeals, and encourage efficiency and quality; and for related matters.’ Chai...
Imo North bye election: Appeal Court upholds Frank Ibezim’s disqualification as APC candidate
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Saturday, upheld the disqualification of Sir Chuwuma Ibezim as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the Senatorial by-election held in Imo North on December 5, 2020. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of Justices, affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove Ibezim’s name from the list of candidates for the by-election, after it found him guilty of submitting falsified documents. The high court judgement followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1229/2020, which was filed against Ibezim by Asomugha Elebeke. Trial Justice Inyang Ekwo had in the judgement delivered on December 4, 2020, barely 24 hours to the by-election, ...
Senate moves to push retirement age of Supreme Court justices to 75 years
The Senate is putting in place measures to push for the retirement age of Supreme Court Justices in the nation’s apex court from the age of 70 to 75 years. According to the Senate, it is considering the proposal made to it by the Supreme Court March this year, 2021. Speaking today in Abuja during the Senate Constitution Review Committee Retreat to Review and Analyse Submitted Memoranda, Deputy President of the Senate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, All Progressives Congress, APC, Delta Central said that the upper Chamber will in March consider the proposal of shifting the retirement age of Supreme Court Justices from 70 to 75 years and the retirement age for judges of the states, including that of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and the Federal High Courts to bring in about parity with the 70 y...
Nigerian government seizes bank’s assets over Shell’s N183 billion debt
File Photo Nigerian government have moved to sequester the assets of the country’s premier lender First Bank of Nigeria Limited in an effort to recover the damages oil major Royal Dutch Shell owed the Ejama Ebubu community of Rivers State in a legal contest spanning many decades, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Police operatives and court officials arrived the bank’s main branch in Port Harcourt on Tuesday to execute an order to seize the lender’s asset, FirstBank said in a statement. The bank said the incident leading to the confiscation of its properties was “unjustified, illegal and a reckless misuse of the machinery of justice.” Lagos-headquartered FirstBank resolved to guarantee the damages awarded against Shell by a Rivers State high court judge a decade ago. According to the estimation...
