The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination
of Justice Mahmud Mohammed as the Chief
Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
The confirmation was in line with Section 231(1)
of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Before Mohammed was asked to “take a bow and
go” Senators drilled Mohammed in a question and
answer session.
Mohammed described prosecutors as major clogs
in the wheel of judicial system in the country.
He also said that contrary to insinuations,
nothing in the constitution stops the President
from appointing the CJN from body of legal
practitioners in the country.
The CJN designate opposed the creation of
special courts to deal with special cases like
corruption.
He noted that with the right frame of mind and
the will to prosecute, no corruption case would
last more than one week.
He insisted that the problem is not with the
courts but with the personnel in the courts.
He said, “Honestly I do not support the creation
of special courts specifically to deal with cases
like corruption and so on. It is human beings who
are managing the courts. It is not the court itself.
No matter who you put there, if his integrity is
not in good shape you will see that the matters
will not move.
“It does not matter the name of the court but the
actual personnel in the court. That is why as far
as I am concerned, all these corruption cases
could be dealt with by courts which are already in
place.”
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