Restructuring: Problems as FJSC retains power over NJC's top job

• 15 years of experience are now required to lead the Council • Kanu's lawyer, former head of the bar, speaks on a free bench

LANRE ADEWOLE, YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE and SUNDAY EJIKE dissect recent reform efforts to reposition the judiciary.

The recent amendment to the 1999 Constitution saw the Federal Judicial Service Commission retain its power to participate in the appointment of the Secretary of the National Judicial Council (NJC), despite efforts to free the process from current shackles , the jury is out.

President Muhammadu Buhari's assent to the National Assembly's proposal as part of legislative efforts to reposition the judiciary, has strengthened the FJSC's power of recommendation, although considered intrusive by many stakeholders , in the appointment of future CEOs of the Council.

The FJSC recommends, while the Board appoints.

The proposal to decouple the process from the Commission was one of the ideas considered during the constitution review exercise, and many stakeholders had put their weight behind this decision, to ensure greater independence of the Council, since the Constitution stipulates that it should regulate its activities, and the whole of the Judiciary.

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The sustained participation of the Commission in the senior management of the Council is mainly seen as a subordination of the symbol of the judiciary to one of its entities.

In addition to the appointment of the Secretary to the Council, the Commission is currently involved in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and other Justices of the Court, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal and other Justices of the Court, as well as the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court and the Judges of the Tribunal, by appointment.

President Buhari affirmed the involvement of the Commission in the appointment of the CEO of the Council, endorsing the amendment to Article 2 of the Third Schedule of the Constitution.

The slight modification of the layout is the extension of the post-call experience of the future council secretary.

While it was 10 years, the amendment signed by the president increased it to 15 years.

Clause 2 of the Third Schedule Amendment now reads: "The Secretary of the Council shall be appointed by the National Judicial Council on the recommendation of the Federal Judicial Service Commission and shall be a lawyer of at least least fifteen years. post-call experience."

The power of recommendation granted to the FJSC is presented as an opportunity to take advantage of a fait accompli on the Council, since the latter rarely goes beyond the recommendation.

The other side of the coin, for stakeholders not too bothered, is the fact that the Chief Justice of Nigeria is the President of the Commission and Council and is expected to wield great influence over the decisions of the two entities. .

The case against the FJSC.

Many legal actors are unhappy with the suspension of the provision affirming FJSC participation in the appointment of the NJC secretary. Its survival of the constitutional amendment exercise, despite all the obstacles, is linked to probably powerful lobbying by certain elements of the system. Until the president signed the two court articles that survived the policy of the constitution-amendment exercise, and the discovery that the provision was withheld by lawmakers, most system operators were certain of the "association" between the Council and the Commission on the appointment of the Secretary of the Council, that was the story.

The push to exempt the FJSC from major judicial appointments is rooted in an appeal to the Supreme Court, touching on the appointment and disciplinary powers of the Board and Commission.

In February 2022, the entire judiciary was turned upside down when the Abuja Court of Appeal virtually invalidated all disciplinary decisions of the Council, since its inception, setting the stage for an embarrassing wave of quashing of all disciplinary decisions against judicial officers in the last 22 years.

The Intermediate Court unanimously ruled that the NJC cannot recommend sanctions for errant court officers, without the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).

He moved forward to overturn the dismissal of a Federal High Court Judge, Justice Gladys Olotu, based on the Council's recommendation of February 27, 2014.

Since the NJC came into existence under the 1999 Constitution and began operations in 2000, it has retained exclusive power over the discipline of judges, based on interpretations of its powers as they are defined in Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution.

In its more than 22 years of operation...