Ade Adesomoju, Abuja
The Court of Appeal has started the process for appointment of more Justices, The PUNCH has learnt.
Although the number of Justices proposed to be appointment could not be ascertained, our correspondent gathered that the current eight vacant seats on the bench will soon rise to 17.
The anticipated sharp decline in the number of Justices of the court is due to the recent recommendation of eight of the Justices for elevation to the Supreme Court bench.
The court with full complement of 90 Justices, currently has 81, which is set to sharply fall to 73, once the National Judicial Council’s recommendation of eight of them for appointment to the apex court is confirmed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
Our correspondent gathered that the usual calls for recommendations for suitable candidates had already been sent by the President of the court, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, to all relevant officers and institutions of the legal profession.
Some of those that are usually asked to recommend candidates are the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justices of the Supreme Court, the Justices of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judges of various courts and the Nigerian Bar Association.
Confirming the ongoing process of appointment more Justices to the Court of Appeal, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole said those asked to recommend candidates for appointment had already been informed that they might be required to defend the integrity and competence of their nominees.
He said, “We are trying to appoint new Justices to the Court of Appeal; the letter that was sent out asking for nomination, actually included the point that you may be invited to defend’ your nomination.”
Copyright PUNCH.
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