By Henry  Umoru

THE Senate has confirmed the appointment of 11 Justices recommended for the Supreme Court bench.

The confirmation followed the consideration of a report of the screening and approval of the nominees presented by the Chairman, Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal matters, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North) during plenary, yesterday.

The 11 confirmed Justices are Justice Jummai Sankey (North-Central), Justice Moore Adumein (South-South), Justice Haruna Tsammani (North-East), Justice Chidiebere Uwa (South-East) and Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (South-East).

Others include Justice Obande Ogbuinya (South-East), Justice Stephen Adah(North-Central), Justice Habeeb Abiru (South-West), Justice Jamilu Tukur (North-West), Justice Abubakar Umar (North-West) and Justice Mohammed Idris (North-Central).“Prior to the screening  and confirmation  of these Justices,  the Supreme Court has been operating  with only 10 justices, falling short of the statutory requirement of 21 judges.

In his contribution, Senator Orji Kalu (APC, Abia North) said: “The Senate should look at the budget of the judiciary because even the state courts are in a mess, so, how can they give good justice. This is not the way it was before, we were doing better.

Also,  Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West),  said: “Anytime these vacancies occur, they should be filled immediately.

“I want to draw that to the attention of the President. There shouldn’t be delay so that we don’t become a laughing stock.”

It will be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had written to the Senate on December 20, 2023, seeking the screening  and  subsequent  confirmation of the  11 justices recommended for the Supreme Court bench.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who read the letter on the floor of the House, thereafter, referred the nominees to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights  and  Legal  Matters  for screening and further legislative input.

Thereafter, the committee  screened the nominees  same day. Meanwhile,  the Senate has adjourned  plenary session  till December 29, apparently  to pass the N27.5trillion Appropriation Bill that was presented to the joint session of the National Assembly.