Stakeholders have called for a review of the National Judicial Council’s (NJC) role in fulfilling its duty regarding judicial appointments to the Superior Court of record.
This call was made in a statement delivered by Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, who chaired the Joint Planning Committee, at the conclusion of a two-day National Summit on Justice.
The summit, themed ‘Repositioning the Justice Sector in Nigeria: Constitutional, Statutory, and Operational Reforms for Access and Efficiency’, brought together various stakeholders.
Concern was raised over the dual role of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, who serves as both the chairman of the NJC and the chairman of the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
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The summit explained the perceived inconsistency in the CJN holding both positions, as it may create a situation where he appears to be recommending candidates to himself, given his leadership in both bodies, and his authority to appoint a significant number of members to both bodies, beyond those with statutory membership.
There’s a general consensus by the summit on the need to reconstitute or propose reconstitution of both the NJC and the FJSC.
On the role of the State Judicial Service Commission in judicial appointmens, the summit concluded that there was a significant need to ensure that composition of the SJSC is more diverse, that it reflects the interests of the users of the justice sector.
Stakeholders noted the fact that the current NJC guidelines may have subverted the intent of the constitutional provision, empowering the SJSC to make judicial appointments, rather than authorising the SJSC to prepare a shortlist of potential candidates for judicial appointments, appear to address that responsibility solely in the chairman (Chief Judges of States).
Participants also proposed interventions in areas such as human rights protection, fair trial mechanisms, alternative dispute resolution, and technological advancements for a more efficient system.
