Appointment of Justices: NBA threatens to sue Buhari over ‘Constitutional Dereliction’

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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Friday threatened to sue President Buhari for failing to act on the recommendations of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to appoint 13 justices of the Court of Appeal since November 2017.

This was revealed by the president of the association, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud.

The NBA President issued the threat to sue during the opening of the association’s two-day National Executive Committee meeting in Kano.

He claimed that other recommendations for appointments to the Bench of the Federal High Court and other Federal courts were also pending many months after recommendations to the President.

”Acting on the recommendations of the NJC is not a matter of presidential discretion, to be exercised whenever the President deems fit. It is a constitutional duty,” he said.

He added: “whilst the President is not bound to accept the recommendations, failure to act is a breach of the Constitution.

“I, therefore, call on the President to act without further delay! This failure to act is causing unnecessary delays and avoidable negative consequences on the administration of justice across the country.”