By Abdulwahab Abdulah

Retired Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdullahi Mustapha, has expressed displeasure over the recent open disagreement between the Chief Justice of Nigerian, CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami.

To avoid such open confrontation in future and allow decency in the system, justice Mustapha called for the review the process of appointing members of National Judicial Council, NJC, particularly as it affects its leadership. He argued that it will better serve the interest of justice, if the body was headed by a retired judge as applicable in the Civil Service Commission.

Speaking on a topic, “The role of the Bar and the Bench in times of political transition,” at the Annual Law Series organised by a law firm, Perchstone and Graeys in Lagos, Mustapha said he was convinced that the NJC lacked the moral capacity to investigate the CJN for any unethical conduct in view of it’s current composition, adding that NJC is populated with the appointees of the CJN.

On the controversy trailing the award of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Justice Mustapha called for the review of the process in view of the controversy it had generated in recent time.

Justice Mustapha, who lamented the slow pace of justice administration in the country, particularly in relation to criminal prosecution, called for a law to prohibit interlocutory appeals and stay of proceedings in criminal cases.