Senate Confirms 11 S’Court Justices, Urges More Funding

The Senate, on Thursday, okayed 11 Justices shortlisted for appointment to the Supreme Court.

The confirmation of the 11 Justices came a day after the Senate received a letter from President Bola Tinubu, requesting the screening and confirmation of the Justices.

Our correspondent reports that the Senate, on Wednesday, referred the nominees to its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for vetting.

At the Thursday plenary, the committee submitted its report, which was considered and adopted by the Senate.

With the confirmation of the 11 Justices, the Supreme Court will now have the full complement of 21 Justices prescribed by the Constitution.

The confirmed Justices include Justice Haruna Tsammani (North-East); Justice Moore Adumein (South-South), Justice Jummai Sankey (North-Central), Justice Chidiebere Uwa (South-East) and Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (South-East).

Others are Justice Obande Ogbuinya (South-East), Justice Stephen Adah(North-Central), Justice Habeeb Abiru (South-West), Justice Jamilu Tukur (North-West), Justice Abubakar Umar (North-West) and Justice Mohammed Idris (North-Central).

The chairman of the committee, Senator Tahir Monguno, while presenting his panel report, said the nominees possessed the requisite qualifications and experience to sit on the Supreme Court bench, adding that there were no petitions against them.

He, therefore, recommended their confirmation.

Senators, who spoke before the confirmation, had expressed concern over the delay in the appointment of justices for the Supreme Court bench.

Senator Seriake Dickson canvassed that in the event of subsequent vacancies, a provision for their immediate replacement should be made.

He said, “Anytime these vacancies occur, they should be filled immediately. I want to draw that to the attention of the President. There shouldn’t be delay so that we don’t become a laughing stock.”

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said it was important to immediately screen and appoint Justices whenever there was a vacancy on the apex court bench.

Senator Orji Kalu stressed that the funds allocated to the Supreme Court in the 2024 budget be reviewed upwards to ensure its effectiveness.

He said, “The Senate should look at the budget of the Judiciary because even the state courts are in a mess. How can they give good justice? This is not the way it was before; we were doing better.”