Follow Us on Google
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Onofiok Luke, has expressed dismay over the death of Justice Centus Chima Nweze of the Supreme Court.
Luke, in a statement, described the late Justice Nweze a “very intelligent, cerebral, and fearless” judicial officer in his lifetime. He stated that “his scholarship and erudition are well discernible from the prodigious judicial judgements he delivered.”
The former lawmaker, while condoling with the family of the deceased, the Supreme Court and the entire legal community, called for the appointment of new justices of the apex court so as to reduce the work load on the current justices.
According to him, “though the cause of the demise of Hon. Justice Nweze is yet to be determined, his untimely demise however once again brings to the fore the increased and ever-spending workload, and the stress the Justices of the Supreme Court are often exposed to.
” It is worth emphasizing that the Supreme Court of Nigeria adjudicate over matters from different parts of the country. In view of its overstretched nature, some matters have lingered in the court for over 20 years. All reasonable efforts to limit matters that get to the court, as it is obtained in other climes, have proven abortive.
“More worrying is the fact that despite the overstretched nature of the Supreme Court, the court is yet to attain its full complement of 21 justices. Disturbingly, 2 Justices of the court will be retiring in a matter of months. This leaves the court terribly short-handed and unable to optimally perform its adjudicatory functions, and more importantly, execute its policy-setting goal. The situation is worsened given that this is post-election season, where the services of the court is often called upon.”
Luke added that “the effects of this unwholesome situation is unquantifiable. First, it slows the justice administration and delivery to the people. Second, it may reduce the quality of justice delivery to the people as the court lacks the needed and adequate manpower to thoroughly consider matters before it.
“It is imperative that the necessary stakeholders in Nigerian project intervene to serve the Judiciary, and indeed, the country. Judiciary is an important accompaniment to democracy, and anything that affects its smooth functioning, affects Nigeria.
“It is in this vein that I plead with the President, His Excellency, President Asiwaju Tinubu, given its record as a democrat, to intervene and approve the appointment of new justices to the court to meet its full complement of 21 justices.”
