By Dele Ade
Following the resignation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Tanko Muhammad yesterday, a justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, will be sworn in today as the acting CJN.
Mr Ahuraka Isah, the Special Assistant on Media to the immediate past CJN, confirmed the resignation of his principal on Monday.
He said Justice Ariwoola is expected to be inaugurated as the acting CJN by the Presidency at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Justice Muhammad was reported to have resigned as the Chief Justice of Nigeria on Sunday night, citing ill-health as the reason for his decision.
This resulted in the scheduled inauguration of Justice Ariwoola – the next most senior justice of the Supreme Court at the time of Justice Muhammad’s resignation.
Until his resignation, according to reports, the immediate past CJN was seriously ill.
News of his resignation broke barely a week after 14 justices of the Supreme Court wrote to him to lament the dilapidated state of affairs in the apex court.
In the leaked letter, the justices alleged that Justice Muhammad failed to address the issues raised despite drawing his attention to them.
They had complained of a lack of residential accommodation and vehicles at the court, alleging that the former CJN was gallivanting with his ‘spouse, children and personal staff’ while not allowing them to travel with an assistant on foreign trips.
The justices also decried the lack of legal research assistants despite the magnitude of cases being adjudicated, in addition to being confined to work between the hours of 8am to 4pm daily without adequate power supply and lack of diesel to power generator.
But these allegations were denied by an aide to the former CJN.