Buhari’s late approval delays Chief Judge’s swearing in for 4 hours

AFTER four hours of waiting and wariness, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, on Friday, swore in Justice John Tsoho as the acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

The ceremony, which was earlier slated to hold at the main bowl of the Supreme Court at 10.00 a.m., was put off because “there was no letter from the presidency approving the swearing in.”

Justice Abdu Adamu Kafarati, on Thursday, withdrew from the High Court bench, having attained the mandatory retirement age of 65 and Justice Tsoho, being the most senior judge of the court, was recommended for appointment as the acting Chief Judge of the court.

The Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) had last month nominated Justice Tsoho to the National Judicial Council (NJC) to succeed Justice Kafarati, whose term of service expired on Thursday night.

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However, Justice Tsoho’s swearing in was about four hours late until a new time was communicated after the CJN got a letter of approval from the presidency for the ceremony to take place.

Inaugurating Justice Tsoho as acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, the CJN charged him to work harmoniously with his brother-judges in the course of his duties.

The CJN advised him to move round all the divisions of the court across the country to be abreast of the challenges facing the various divisions.

Justice Muhammad said this would enable Tsoho not to be a hearsay head of court, adding that he must create a sense of belonging in all the judges and also create better welfare packages for the staff of the court.

“Do not just sit down and be a hearsay person, visit all divisions of your court to know their challenges and think of solutions to the problems,” the CJN said.

Justice Muhammad reminded Tsoho of the need to be objective in the appointment of judges when the need arises, adding that he must find out the true character and nature of those to be employed in order to ensure that those who are ready to work are appointed.

The acting Chief Judge was also told that his immediate predecessor, Justice Kafarati, achieved much during his brief tenure of office and pleaded with him to do his best to sustain the development and make the Federal High Court good and productive.

The CJN assured him of his support and congratulated Kafarati on his service on the bench and prayed to God to grant him peace, prosperity and good health in the remaining part of his life.

Justice Tsoho was appointed judge of the Federal High Court on November 12, 1998.