President Buhari Appoints 2 New Supreme Court Justices

Following the raid on judges by the Department of State Security, DSS over the weekend, the judiciary is set for more upheaval as a request of President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate has emerged asking the Chambers to consider and confirm the nominations of two judges as Justices of the Supreme Court.

Premium Times report that the nominated judges are Sidi Bage, Nasarawa State, North Central; and Paul Jauro, Taraba State, North East.

Senate President Bukola Saraki read the letter from the president conveying the request after the upper chamber returned from a closed-door session on Tuesday.

The letter read by Dr Saraki stated that President Buhari said the request was pursuant to Section 231(2) of the Constitution of Nigeria, as amended, and demanded the expeditious attention of the Senate in the confirmations.

Mr. Jauro, born on June 26, 1954, became judge of the High Court in 1998, ten years before his elevation as Justice of the Court Appeal, while Sidi Bage, who was born on June 22, 1956, became Federal High Court Judge in 1992 before his appointment as Justice of the Court of Appeal in 2000.

Buhari is reported to have followed the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) in nominating the judges.

This comes after the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, described as unfortunate and regrettable the clampdown on the judiciary, saying laid down rules must be followed in dealing with crime.