LANRE ADEWOLE examines the issues and undercurrents trailing the appointment of the most important officer for the apex court.
On August 6, 2021, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed announced Hajo Sarki-Bello as the acting Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, considering she was the most senior of the Deputy Chief Registrars of the court, at the time the last occupant of the prestigious and influential office, Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha, clocked the retirement age.
Ms. Mustapha hit the mandatory exit age of 60 on Sunday August 8, after being in the saddle for four years and Ms. Sarki-Bello assumed office on Monday August 9.
If seniority-by-succession arrangement which drives most of the crucial appointments in the judiciary is to be the singular barometer, it should be given that the Niger-state born Hajo, would be the 18th Chief Registrar of the court and the second woman in quick succession, to occupy the “hot” seat.
As the most senior administrative officer of the court, second only to the Chief Justice in decision-making as well as serving as the secretary to the “powerful” Legal Practitioners and Privileges Committee (LLPC), which handles the yearly appointment of senior advocates, the chief registrar of the apex court, is possibly only second in prestige, to the secretary of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The occupant of the office practically runs the apex court, horizontally and vertically, and all the who-is-who at the Nigerian Bar, get to relate with him or her, for obvious reasons, as the chief registrar is the actual king, when it is nomination cycle for SANship, since the office serves as the secretariat. The office is equally central to the proceedings for imposition of sanctions on erring lawyers.
Apart from being the administrative head of the apex court, the chief registrar is also the chief accounting officer, making the office, the clearing house for all financial matters, before the endorsement of the Chief Justice. As the chief accounting officer of the court, all contractual agreements also go through the chief registrar as a matter of necessity, which also puts the occupant in charge of the yearly budget of the apex court, in the count of billions of naira.
As the office grew in influence over the years, politics of appointment also came into the mix and because it is not a tenured job, occupant per time, holds the job, at the pleasure of the Chief Justice and those in circle of influence, particularly retired jurists, who regularly wade into appointment matters.
Announcing her acting appointment, Supreme Court Director of Press and Information, Dr. Festus Akande, says of the importance of the office; “the Chief Registrar is the highest civil servant of the apex court in charge of the general administration of the court. The position holder is also expected to assist the CJN in the discharge of his administrative duties.”
The politics
After two unsuccessful attempts at tying the seat down permanently, Sarki-Bello is understandably having all eyes on her again.
The travails of Hajo, believed to be a mentee of former Chief Justice Ibrahim Alfa Belgore, became public knowledge in 2014 when Sunday Olorundahunsi as the Chief Registrar was exiting alongside his appointor, then CJN, Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, in what has gradually become the norm of a new CJN appointing a new Chief Registrar and exiting with him or her, now that the office, judiciary-wide, operates like chief of staff to incumbent head of the system. Hajo, as the most senior deputy chief registrar, was expected to be a shoo-in, per, the succession-by-seniority arrangement.
Now, a high court judge in Ondo State, Olorundahunsi was not a fan of his deputy and the tension between the duo, was a poorly-concealed secret within the system.
Expectedly, Hajo, was by-passed despite acting occasionally when Olorundahunsi was out of town and a junior, in hardworking and reform-oriented Gambo Ahmed Saleh, was favoured for the job, coming into office, alongside Aloma’s successor, Justice Mohammed Mahmud. Hajo had to accept her fate, retaining her position as most senior, known as DCR 1.
In 2017, fate again opened vacancy for Hajo to fill. Saleh emerged the winner of all the tests conducted for applicants to the vacant office of NJC’s Secretary, following the retirement of the long-serving Halilu Danladi, and was deservedly appointed the Council Secretary, but it was also not to be for Hajo.
Mahmud’s successor, Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, bypassed Hajo again and settled for immediate CR, Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha, head-hunted from Sharia Court of Appeal, Abuja. Hajo had to play second fiddle again.
The seat is vacant again, following Ms Mustapha’s retirement and Hajo is acting again. System stakeholders are now waiting with bated breath if she would be third time unlucky.
Appointment procedure
The appointment of a substantive chief registrar for the Supreme Court is statutorily conducted by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria. Essentially, who gets the job depends on the CJN he or she is going to work with.
The singular statutory requirement is for the person under consideration to be a lawyer, called to the Nigerian Bar.
Ms. Sarki-Bello is a 1989 Law graduate from Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Nigeria, and was called to the Nigerian Bar on June 7, 1990, which should make her eminently qualified for the seat.
Over time, other unwritten conditions have come into play in appointing occupants of the seat. In recent time, serving as a magistrate before joining the apex court workforce is now being projected as an advantage.
Ms. Bello does not have a record of serving at any magistrate court.
Because the requirements to qualify for the office are not cast in iron unlike appointments to the Bench, past holders of the office have done so basically at the pleasure of the CJN they worked with and without doubt, Bello’s fate is in the hand of Justice Tanko.
As the office is not tenured, so also is the acting period. Tuesday, November 8, makes the acting period of Ms. Bello three months, which should have been statutory threshold for a renewal or termination, for a judicial officer appointed in acting capacity. But in the nature of the fluidity that governs the appointment process, the acting appointment runs at the pleasure of the CJN, who alone can determine when the FJSC which he heads, can determine Ms. Bello’s future on the seat.
Except the CJN notifies the Commission of his intention to have her confirmed for the job, the body, which has the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as a member, cannot on its own, act outside the agenda of the CJN, as the chairman, though he must inform the body of the acting appointment of the CR.
When contacted by Nigerian Tribune, Dr. Akande said he was slightly indisposed and could not be definite about FJSC’s next meeting and if Ms. Bello’s substantive appointment would be on the agenda.
It was learnt that the acting appointment may run for as long as six months and once there is a decision to bypass Ms. Bello again, the favoured candidate would be screened straightaway by FJSC as the substantive CR.
Already, the powers-that-be in the system are said to be eyeing the secretary of one of the agencies of the judiciary, where the CJN is also chairman, as the substantive CR. He briefly served as an aide to a Supreme Court top jurist, now late, before his current assignment.
If he eventually gets the job, it would be the second time an outsider would beat Ms. Bello, to the top prize.
If not appointed, she would be required, to revert to her former position as DCR 1.
It should be thrown open -NBA chief
The National Welfare Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association and immediate National Publicity Secretary of the lawyers’ body, Mr. Kunle Edun wants the position advertised, for the best candidate to emerge through a transparent and rigorous procedure.
Mr. Edun, who is also the Executive Director, Centre for Transparency and Defence of Human Rights said, “The office of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court is a very important and sensitive office in the administration of justice system in Nigeria.
“The occupant of the office also acts as the Secretary of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee and other statutory committees. Therefore, the need to have someone with vast experience and knowledge of law and practice cannot be over emphasised. It will, therefore, be prudent that the search should not be limited only to a certain group or categories of staff but it should be advertised for persons that are qualified to apply.
“It is high time that we moved away from the archaic system of entitlement to an office because a person works in the same establishment or application of mundane criteria. The same way some of us advocate for a good mix of the Supreme Court bench by career Justices, academicians and litigation practitioners, the office of the CR should also be thrown open to all to apply.”
Who is Hajo?
She attended the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) in Lagos where she studied Legal Drafting. She also obtained a Master’s Degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in International Affairs and Diplomacy. She worked in Law firms and commercial organisations before joining the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1996 as Senior Registrar. In 2001, she was promoted to the position of Acting Deputy Chief Registrar and later became substantive Deputy Chief Registrar in 2006.
The list
The first ever Chief Registrar of the apex court is C.O Madarikan esq who was in office between 1958 and 1960, followed by G.S Sowemimo esq (1960 to 1961), J.A Adefarasin (1961 to 1962), O.R. I George (1962 to 1963), M.A Macauley (1963 to 1967), Akinbo Savage (1967 to 1972), K. Ibidapo Obe (1972 to 1977), G. O Jackman (Mrs) (1977 to 1983), F. A. Owobiyi (1983 to 1989), R.A Kasim (1989 to 1991), T. I. Adesalu (1992 to 1995), M. M. Dodo (1995 to 2003), D. Z. Zenchi (2003 to 2007(, Usman Alh. Musale esq (2007 to 2010), Mr. Sunday Olorundahunsi (2010 to 2014), Ahmed Gambo Saleh Esq (2014 to 2017) and Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha (2017 to 2021).
If Ms. Bello gets it this time, she would be the third female in history to occupy the seat.
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