From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called for urgent reforms and cleansing of the Augean Stables in Nigeria’s judiciary following the resignation of Tanko Muhammad as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
In a statement on Monday, NBA President Olumide Akpata commended Mr Muhammad for his “lengthy service to the nation, and wish him quick recovery even as we pray for a well-deserved peaceful retirement.”
The body of lawyers added that the CJN’s resignation could not be divorced from the raging crisis in the Supreme Court with the 14 other Justices of the court accusing him of poor handling of the affairs of the court.
“I must do so again today as he bows out. It is however impossible, to consider His Lordship’s retirement in isolation from the recent unprecedented developments at the Supreme Court where 14 justices of the Court censured the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria over His Lordship‘s handling of their welfare and related issues.
“Beyond this, there is near-universal agreement that public confidence in the Judiciary and indeed the legal profession is at an all-time low.”
While pledging its loyalty to the acting CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the NBA said his first tasks should include taking steps aimed at “urgent reforms in the Judiciary” and rebuilding “the almost dissipated confidence that Nigerians have in the Judiciary and the wider legal profession in Nigeria.”
Akpata said the association is “ready to work together with His Lordship (Mr Ariwoola) and the judiciary in cleansing the Augean Stable and addressing the ills that have continued to plague not just the Judiciary but the entire legal profession.”
The statement reads in part:
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has received the news of the resignation, on grounds of ill health, of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Dr Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, CFR.
We thank His Lordship for his lengthy service to the nation and wish him a quick recovery even as we pray for a well-deserved peaceful retirement. In the course of previous publications and communications, I have consistently appreciated the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria for the cordial working relationship between the Bar and the Bench under our respective administrations. I must do so again today as he bows out. It is however impossible, to consider His Lordship’s retirement in isolation from the recent unprecedented developments at the Supreme Court where 14 justices of the Court censured the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria over His Lordship‘s handling of their welfare and related issues.