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| Tanko Muhammad. |
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, has resigned his appointment, a few days after the Justices of the Supreme Court, protested his overbearing influence on their allowances, stating health issues.
The next most senior Justice of
the Supreme Court, Olukayode Ariwoola, who hails from Oyo State, is expected to
be sworn in acting capacity, as sources at the Supreme Court who confirmed
Muhammad’s resignation, say.
The resignation by Mr. Muhammad, who
is 68yrs old, comes about 18 months ahead of his official retirement in
December 2024, when he would have clocked 70. And his abrupt exit comes at a
time when his colleagues on the Supreme Court bench accused him of hampering
the operations of the Supreme Court by failing to fund judges’ welfare as well
as fueling of generators among others.
A leaked memo by 14 Justices of the
Supreme Court protesting Muhammad’s handling of the operations of the court
surfaced online last week.
Such letter leaking to the public
is unprecedented in the history of Nigerian Supreme Court and he is leaving behind
the crises enumerated in the letter by the Justices of the Supreme Court.
He is the second CJN in a row to
abruptly exit office, after his predecessor, Walter
Onnoghen was controversially suspended by President Muhammad Buhari, in January 2019,
and never returned to office until he was convicted by the Code of Conduct
Tribunal (CCT) over charges of breach of codes of conduct for public officers,
with the president later recognizing his voluntary resignation instead of the
order of his removal from office by the CCT.
Onmoghen’s exit from office in January 2019 came almost two years before he was due for retirement in December 2020, with Muhammad, who was appointed to succeed him, also leaving office 18 months ahead of his official retirement age in December 2024.
Two Justices of the Supreme who
asked not to be named confirmed Tanko Muhammad’s resignation on
Monday.
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