The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, and others, on Thursday, prayed to the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, to dismiss a suit filed by a lawyer, Azubuike Oko, seeking to stop the appointment of 12 judges to the FCT High Court.
Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, who appeared for Ariwoola, the Chief Judge (CJ) of FCT, Hussein Baba-Yusuf, and National Judicial Council (NJC), told Justice Inyang Ekwo while adopting their processes and presenting their argument against the suit.
In a preliminary objection dated and filed March 1 by the senior lawyer, Kehinde urged the court to strike out or dismiss the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/205/3024 for want of jurisdiction.
The counsel, who gave four- grounds of argument, said under Section 6(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution is non-justiciable.
He argued that Oko, the plaintiff, lacked the locus standi to institute the action.
“Under Section 245C(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the National Industrial Court of Nigeria has exclusive jurisdiction to determine matters relating to or connected with the employment of judicial officers.
“Under Section 245C(1)(d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the National Industrial Court of Nigeria has exclusive jurisdiction to determine matters relating to or connected with and any dispute over the interpretation and application of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution as it relates to the employment of judicial officers,” Kehinde argued.
In the affidavit in support of the preliminary objection deposed to by Kemi Esene, a litigation secretary in the law firm of Kehinde and Partners, she told Justice Ekwo that on Sept. 30, 2020, the honourable court dismissed a similar suit.
She said the sult, marked: FC/ABJCS/602/2020 filed by JRP Foundation Ltd against the former President Muhammadu Buhari and 24 others, was dismissed on June 10, 2020.
Esene said the sult had challenged the recommendation of 21 persons by the NJC to Buhari for appointment as judges of the High Court of the FCT.
She said the plaintiff had alleged that the Judicial Service Committee of the FCT acted In bad faith and grossly abused the power vested in it when it submitted the list of nominees for appointment as judges of the FCT High Court to NJC.
The lawyer averred that the court, in its judgment, upheld the preliminary objection of the defendants and said that since the plaintiff was not a party to the procedure for the appointment of the judicial officers, the foundation had no locus to institute the action.
Besides, she said the court held that FHC had no jurisdiction over the matter because the subject matter had to do with the employment of the persons recommended by NJC to be appointed as judges by the former president.
When the case was called on Thursday, plaintiff’s lawyer, Nkemakolam Okoro, told the court that the matter had been adjourned for hearing and that they were ready to proceed.
Okoro said he filed an originating summons dated and filed Feb. 16.
He said upon receipt of the counter affidavit jointly filed by FCT CJ, NJC, and CJN, he filed a response on March 4.
He said he equally filed a counter affidavit on March 4 to oppose their preliminary objection.
Okoro urged the court to grant their relief.
Akinola Fasanmi, who appeared for appeared for Nigeria’s president and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), adopted all the processes filed by Kehinde.
Justice Ekwo adjourned the suit until March 15 for judgment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the judge had, on Feb. 23, rejected Oko’s ex-parte motion seeking to stop Baba-Yusuf from appointing 12 judges to the bench of the court.
Justice Ekwo, in a ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by Emmanuel Emerenini, rather directed the plaintiff to put the defendants on notice of the motion ex-parte within 2 days of the order.
Justice Ekwo also ordered Oko, a legal practitioner, to serve the defendants with all processes filed in the suit within two days of the order for the defendants to show cause why the prayers on the motion ought not to be granted in the next adjourned date.
He, however, made an order for an accelerated hearing.
Oko, in the motion, had sued Baba-Yusuf, NJC, and Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) as 1st to 3rd defendants.
Also joined in the suit are the CJN, President of Nigeria, and AGF as the 4th to 6th defendants, respectively.
The plaintiff sought an order directing the parties in the suit to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and determination of his motion on notice.
Oko said he hails from Ebonyi, which had been routinely excluded and marginalised with respect to the appointment of judges of the High Court of FCT by Baba-Yusuf, NJC, and FJSC.
The lawyer averred that, as a matter of fact, it was the CJ (Baba-Yusuf) that computes the names of qualified lawyers from selected states of the federation and transmitted to FJSC for recommendation to NJC for appointment by the President of Nigeria,as judges of the FCT High Court.
He averred that the states mentioned for nomination of lawyers for appointment as judges into the 12 positions were Bauchi, Bayelsa, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara.
He, however, alleged that currently, Oyo and Kogji “already had two serving judges in the FCT High Court, and the two states were given additional slots to now have three judges, despite the fact that Ebonyi State has no single serving judge in the High Court of the FCT.”
He prayed the court to grant their motion in the interest of justice.
(NAN)