Following Justice Mohammed’s resignation as CJN, the NBA calls for immediate judicial reform in Nigeria.

Following Justice Tanko Muhammad’s retirement as the nation’s Chief Justice, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called for the immediate reform of the judiciary on Monday.

The CJN, 68, left his position early on Monday due to health reasons.

A few Supreme Court justices reportedly objected to Justice Mohammed’s weak leadership of the top court and demanded that he step down, according to reports.

Justice Olukayode Ariwoola has subsequently been sworn in as interim CJN by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement in response to the news, NBA President Olumide Akpata praised the former Chief Justice of Nigeria for his years of service to the country and wished him a speedy recovery from his sickness.

But he added that the Supreme Court’s dilemma could not be separated from Justice Mohammed’s resignation.

In order to restore Nigerians’ trust in the courts and the legal system as a whole, the NBA president asked the CJN to carry out immediate reforms.

He stated that the NBA is prepared to engage with Justice Ariwoola and the court to address the issues that have persisted in the legal profession as a whole as well as the judiciary.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Dr. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, CFR, resigned on the grounds of ill health, according to a statement released by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

“We thank His Lordship for his lengthy service to the nation, and wish him quick recovery even as we pray for a well-deserved peaceful retirement. In the course of previous publications and communications, I have consistently appreciated the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria for the cordial working relationship between the Bar and the Bench under our respective administrations.

“ I must do so again today as he bows out. It is however impossible, to consider His Lordship’s retirement in isolation of the recent unprecedented developments at the Supreme Court where 14 justices of the Court censured the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria over His Lordship‘s handling of their welfare and related issues.

“Beyond this, there is near universal agreement that public confidence in the Judiciary and indeed the legal profession is at an all-time low.

“There is now more than ever the need for urgent reforms in the Judiciary and to rebuild the almost dissipated confidence that Nigerians have in the Judiciary and the wider legal profession in Nigeria.

“These should form the immediate first tasks for Hon. Mr. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who is expected to now take over as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

“The NBA welcomes the appointment of Hon. Mr. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and pledges its readiness to work together with His Lordship and the Judiciary in cleansing the Augean Stable and addressing the ills that have continued to plague not just the Judiciary but the entire legal profession.”