CJ Muhammad administers oath on eight new Supreme Court justices as South-East number reduces to 2 in the 20-member bench.
Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad yesterday 6 October admitted the new justices appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Court.
Their nominations to the highest court were approved by the National Assembly on 13 October 2020.
They include Justices Lawal Garba, Helen Ogunwumiju, Abdu Aboki, Mohammed Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Samuel Oseji, Tijjani Abubakar, and Emmanuel Agim
Justices Garba, Aboki, and Salauwa are from North-West, Jauro and Abubakar from North-East, Oseji and Agim from South-South, and Ogunwumiju from South-West.
The Supreme Court now has a record-setting 20 justices, four each from North West, North East, South South, and South West.
Both North Central and South East are represented by two justices each in the Court.
The two judges representing the South East are Justices Sylvester Ngwuta (Abia) and Centus Nweze (Enugu).
Justice Ngwuta retires next year 2021, leaving only Nweze to represent the entire region.
The National Assembly has only apologised to the North Central for standing down its candidate and promised a redress soon.
Chair of the senate Judiciary Committee Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), offered this apology after his Committee recommended the new justices.
Bamidele said the North Central had a candidate whose nomination was stood down by his committee for further NJC review.
He stated that, save for the North Central, “all geo-political zones will (now) be represented by three or four Justices.”
As Enugu Metro noted in an earlier report, Sen. Bamidele may have added Justice Mary Odili to the South East number.
Although born in Imo State, she is married to former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, and is representing the South South.
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