Supreme Court Justices Revolt Against CJN Tanko
…Say, despite N120 billion budget, no data, electricity to do their work.
All is not well at the apex level of the nation’s judiciary, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
This followed what is seen as a clear revolt by Justices of the Supreme Court against the leadership style of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad
The Justices of the Supreme Court are pointedly accusing CJN Tanko of denying them their allowances and emoluments in spite of the N120 billion allotted to the Court in the 2022 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
They specifically said that this is in spite of the increase of the budget of the Court from N110 billion in 2021 budget to N120 billion in 2022.
The concerned Supreme Court Justices expressed grave concern over an internal memo that forced them to close by 4pm over lack of diesel, stressing that the development is a pointer to the fact that the highest Court in the land had sunk into unthinkable depths under the leadership of Justice Tanko.
They specifically decried the current state of their health clinic, which they said had been reduced “to a mere consulting clinic” since drugs were not always available to treat minor ailments, thereby endangering justices who may require emergency medical intervention.
The Supreme Court Justices in a letter addressed to the CJN early this month, demanded to know what happened to their legitimate entitlements under Justice Tanko just as they lamented how requests for legal assistants, standard health clinic, accommodation for Justices, diesel and data allowance were deliberately ignored by the CJN.
They noted that this was taking place in spite of the a panel constituted some months ago by Justice Tanko to look into the matter.
The aggrieved Justices also noted that the committee requested the restoration of their monthly Internet allowance as they require an uninterrupted Internet service to have access to materials online to aid their writing of judgements.
The memo by the Justices to the CJN further states; “Your Lordship received and ignored these demands since 24th March 2022. The welfare Committee also submitted our request for diesel allowance, because of the epileptic electricity supply, the astronomical hike in the price of diesel and the fact that Justices required electricity to work at home”.
The Justices of the Supreme Court berated Justice Tanko, stressing that his administration as inefficient that had drastically deteriorated the standards known with the nation’s apex court.
The Justices particularly expressed concern that Supreme Court Justices sworn-in since November 2020, are yet to be allocated with accommodation in spite of Justice Tanko’s assurances.
The memo further states; “Your Lordship promised to take up the issue that day. To date, your Lordship has not taken any step in this direction.
The Justices also said that their mandatory foreign workshops and training which is expected to be three times in a year with an accompanying person for reason of age have been put on hold by Justice Tanko, who has now limited their options to only Dubai and Tanzania without an accompanying person.
They however stressed that on the contrary, CJN Tanko travelled with his entire family and personal staff and therefore demanded to know what had become of their allowances despite the judiciary gulping about N120 billion of the nation’s 2022 budget.
The memo also states; “Your Lordship totally ignored this demand and yet travelled with your spouse, children and personal staff.
“What has become of our training funds, have they been diverted or is this a plain denial? We find it strange that despite the upward review of our budgetary allocation, the Court cannot cater for our legitimate entitlements. This is unacceptable!”
Speaking on the dicey issue, Ahuraka Isa, who I the spokesman for the CJN Takno, said that the issues have already been addressed, stressing that the CJN is not responsible for the issues raised.
In a statement, Isa said that the memo by the Supreme Court justices to CJN Tanko complaining of their poor state of warfare was earlier expressed during their quarterly meeting held in March this year.
In the words of Isa; “The CJN was attending to the complaints before his colleagues decided to reduce the complaints into writing. They have been settled now and the apex court bench is calm.
“The CJN is not the cause of Supreme Court justices’ financial woes but a collective woeful working condition. The CJN does not close from work till sometimes 7 to 8 pm.
“Most of the judges’ complaints have been attended to or have received adequate attention as they were made to know during their meeting with Justice Bage,” he said.
Report sourced from The Peoples Gazette
