By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, Kunle Olasanmi |
With about three weeks to his retirement from the Supreme Court, the death of Justice Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta might trigger some changes in the apex court, LEADERSHIP checks have revealed.
One of such changes, according to some senior lawyers, is the vacuum his demise has left in the highest court in the land which must be filled very soon.
Justice Ngwuta passed on in the early hours of yesterday after a brief illness was just weeks away from clocking 70.
He was expected to retire from the bench and as Justice of the apex court on March 30, 2021 upon attainment of the 70-year mandatory retirement age.
He was said to have fallen sick and had been on admission in the last one week at the National Hospital, Abuja.
His remains has since been deposited at the National Hospital mortuary pending the final arrangement for his burial.
Until his death, the late Justice Ngwuta was the third in command at the Supreme Court, but our findings showed that with his demise, the hierarchy of the apex court has been altered.
The Supreme Court bench is made up of 20 Justices who are appointed in the order of seniority at the bench.
The apex court bench is headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who is also the number one judicial officer in the country.
This entails that the CJN who is the head of the judicial arm of government presides over the country’s apex court and the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The current CJN was appointed into the position in 2019 and is due for retirement in 2023.
But the next in line to the CJN, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, may not succeed Justice Muhammad as CJN since he is due for retirement later this month.
He was born on March 22, 1951 and will attain the mandatory retirement age of 70 later this month.
Justice Ngwuta was next to Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour but with his death, Justice Mary Ukaego Odili,…
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