The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to request that the Federal Government appoint new Supreme Court justices to ensure effective justice delivery in the country.
The House resolution came after Patrick Umoh, the lawmaker for Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency in Akwa Ibom State, presented a motion of urgent public interest.
In the motion tagged ‘Urgent need for the Federal Government to appoint new justices to the Supreme Court to ensure expeditious and effective justice delivery in the country’, Umoh noted that “The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the apex court in the country with the jurisdiction to hear and determine causes and matters across the length and breadth of Nigeria.”
The House, in its resolution, urged “the Federal Government to appoint nine new justices to the Supreme Court in order to expedite the hearing and determination of matters for effective and efficient justice delivery in Nigeria.”
It further charged its Committee on Federal Judiciary with ensuring that the resolution was followed.
Before the House reached its resolution, Umoh noted, “That the current number of justices of the apex court has dropped to an all-time low of 11 justices, making it 10 justices short of its full complement of 21 justices, as stipulated by the Constitution.”
The House further noted that Nigeria is in a post-election season where judges have to hear and determine electoral matters from different parts of the country within a short period of time, as mandated by the Constitution.
