Resignation from office is a very scarce word in this part of the world. News about the sudden resignation of Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, came to many as a surprise. His backdoor exit from the bench, about 18 months before his retirement in December 2023, when he will clock 70, elicited varied reactions.

The cry and call of all Nigerians should now be: ‘who will save us from the ugly situation facing us’. There is no place to run to for help; for justice/ redress. Everywhere is perverted by the force and power of money. Regrettably, the judicial system is not left out of this pandemic which is destroying our nation.

Justice Tanko Muhammad succeeded Justice Onnoghen after the latter was suspended from the exalted office based on allegations of non – asset declaration. He took over the reins of the Nigeria Judicial system in a controversial manner on July 24, 2019. Justice Tanko happened to be the 21st Chief Justice of Nigeria.

It must be stated clearly that there is nothing wrong in anybody resigning from holding public office but it raises the dust when the circumstance is doubted or used as a shield or to escape investigation. Tanko’s predecessor was disgraced out of office, this demanded for a lot of discussions and views expressed. So why will Tanko too be disgraced out of office.

There were myriads of reasons that necessitated the resignation of our former CJN:  his appointment generated a lot of arguments, especially with the removal of Onnoghen, the state of his health especially battling with memory loss challenge, allegation from 14 Justices from the apex court, allegation of degeneration of court; decadence in the system, age falsification among others.

Consequently, the letter written by 14 Justices of the Supreme Court leaked to the public, Nigerians were flabbergasted that the temple of Justice could be tainted with so many anomalies, mal – administration, corruption.

The response to the letter written by his brother Justices further heightened the tension instead of dousing it. By putting down his resignation, he had saved the face of the judiciary from another public disgrace and castigation from the people they ought to decide cases for, this will badly affect the image of the judiciary.

The reaction of Justice Tanko is highly commendable, displaying a high level of selflessness, given premium to the office than his selfish interest, thus, portraying him as a man of honour. Only in developed countries we witness or see leaders resigning from public office simply because their integrity was doubted. On this note, I hold my lord, retired Justice Tanko in a very high esteem.

Obviously, he had acted wisely just as the legal maxim says ” delay defeats equity” and the English proverbial saying that ‘delay could be dangerous’. It is better to leave honourably than to suffer reproach and allow the system that made you to be rubbished.

His exit gave way for another person to be sworn in as the Chief Justice of Nigeria but also should be made to serve as a deterrent to others judicial officers, so as to be of best conduct in the discharge of their statutory duties. However, some are still calling for the probe of the former CJN, this will further show that nobody is above the law, that the ‘law is supreme’.

I will like to submit by saying again and again that the appointment of judicial officers should be based purely on merit, not on nepotism, favouritism and influence of any kind. You cannot bite the finger that feeds you, rub my back and I do same for you. This arm of the government must be seen as a sacred one, a place where justice and nothing short thrives. Let all hands ensure that men of integrity are made judicial officers, men who will not compromise.

The 16th Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Tanko assumed office, following his controversial appointment in 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari, in an acting capacity, pending the determination of the trial against the then suspended Walter Onnoghen, the former CJN by Code of Conduct Tribunal.

Legally the CJN occupies this position, and only death or reaching the age of 70, whichever comes first, or impeachment by the Senate, which requires a super majority, can result in removal from office.

Considering the immediate past CJN resigned last month – citing ill-health as the reason for his resignation amidst ongoing senate committee investigation into a possible misappropriation of fund among other allegations against him a newly sworned in Justice Olukayode Ariwoola replaces him as acting CJN in June.

The judiciary is a vital arm of government and the Supreme Court being the apex court in the land, as much as any of our courts of record, should lead by demonstrating its decorum and honour.

In practice, the National Assembly has the duty to probe into any allegations of this kind and take necessary actions in this regard in line with the constitution and extant laws even after resignation.

It is the constitutional duty of the judiciary to tackle key challenges that citizens face with justice, equity and fairness and as a result of the economy in our society today, this century’s democracy relishes the application of principles of checks and balances in governance to hold the congress, the Supreme court and the Aso Villa (the President) accountable to the people of Nigeria.

The former Chief Justice of Nigeria resigned recently, making claims that same was done on health grounds, several questions have began to pop up over the said resignation, as well as the drama that ensued in the Supreme Court recently where other justices of the Court fingered the erstwhile CJN in a leaked memo, condemning the state of the judiciary as well as the conspiracy involved therein.

 It is much appreciated that the CJN resigned on health grounds, which needs to be taken into cognizance, as well as considering the bulk of work at the Supreme Court, it is a good development in as much as it is geared towards taking care of his health, and the importance of a good health at old age cannot be overemphasized. Notwithstanding this, the resignation is timeous with the lingering issue within the Judiciary.

Other Justices of the Court have pointed accusing fingers at the former CJN, hence a clear indication of alleged corrupt practices within the third arm of the government. While this is condemnable to say the least, it portends a questionable judiciary in the sight of the common man, in the view of the public, as this may not augur well with litigants and members of the public who sees the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.

Whilst the romance between the judiciary and executive is being evident this few years, there is the need for the CJN to restore the values in the Judiciary again, as people are beginning to cast aspersions on and over the judiciary, since the accusations as pointed out by the memo and the resignation of the previous CJN comes hand in hand, hence a kind of circumstantial evidence pointing to the fact that the judiciary is enmeshed in vices which are threatening to the dispensation of justice.

It is however hoped that the New CJN addresses this issue with a view to correcting the grievances as addressed by the Justices of the Supreme Court and the need for the judicial arm to regain the trust of the general populace.

As the number one judicial officer in the country and 16th Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad had voluntarily resigned   his office, It is trite that there can never be vacuum in law rather the most senior will be appointed as an ”Acting”Chief Justice pending the appointment of the substantial Chief Justice.

The appointment of a Chief Justice of the supreme court can only be done by the recommendation of the president to the National Assembly for Confirmation as stated under Chapter 7 section 231 of the 1999 constitution as amended

The implications of the resignation is that there won’t be no Justice to assign and distribute cases to other justices

The constitution has empowered the judiciary to appoint the most senior justice to act in an acting capacity pending the confirmation of a substantial justice from the National Assembly.

Going by the Nigeria current situations the former Chief Justice resigned based on health ground which is logical and Justice Olukayode Ariwoola was appointed as the acting Chief Justice.

Assuming the new Acting  Chief Judge was not appointed on time the supreme court will have issue to the distribution of cases among the Supreme court Justices

So the appointment of the New Acting Chief Justice has solved, future problems that might affect our court administrative system.

I am not at a vantage position as a lawyer to traverse the position of the  Chief Justice of Nigeria hinging his basis of resignation on health ground since I am not his personal medical practitioner.

However there was a boiling unresolved allegation of willful disregard for the welfare of the supreme Court Justices being an issue vehemently raised vide a memo duly signed by fourteen (14) Supreme Court justices.

The allegations are overwhelmingly weighty and should not be swept under the carpet by my humble opinion owing to the fact that accountability should not be far fetched in the community of intellectuals.

The resignation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria otherwise referred to as CJN came 18 months before the end of his tenure and came barely weeks after a complaint by 14 of Nigeria’s 16 Supreme Court justices. The complaint against him  involved various issues, ranging from a lack of research assistants, inadequate accommodation, sub-par electricity supply, and a lack of internet access in their residences and chambers. To some, the aforementioned complaints precipitated his resignation but these among others might not be the reason for the abrupt resignation of the CJN.

     Though his resignation was never envisaged at this time but it is better to tow the path of sincerity as the CJN’s health can no longer avail him the requisite vigour needed to perform excellently in discharging his duties.

The CJN’s decision to resign due to health challenges as avowed means he can no longer perform the functions of his office as provided for under Section 231(4) and 250 (4) of the 1999 constitution as Amended and this was what prompted his decision.

It might look worrisome or inchoate to some schools of thought but in my own humble view, his decision was appropriate and as such, I applaud him for taking such bold step.

I opine that there would be a positive implication of Justice Tanko Muhammad’s resignation  as there are other qualified Justices who can take it up from where Justice Tanko stopped. The Constitution has made a provision for the  appointment of an acting Chief Justice who can act in his stead pending the time another Chief Justice of Nigeria would be appointed. Section 251 of the Constitution provide thus:

 *If the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding has resumed those functions, the President shall appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions*

In achieving the above provision of the Constitution, the President has appointed the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Kayode Ariwoola as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

This means His Lordship, Justice Ariwoola starts from where Justice Tanko Muhammad stopped to steer the affairs of the Supreme Court, Justices and other incidental matters relating to his paraphernalia of office.

The judiciary is a sacred arm of government that is so much respected as well  seen as the last hope of a common man, this is not far from the fact that it is an institution that is constitutionally embodied with the most expensive commodity on earth which is justice.

As a matter of fact, there are two versions of the said story, some newspapers reported that  CJN’S resignation was as a result of his ill health while others  asserted that  his resignation was due to the corrupt allegations levelled against him, in fact, some of the media houses even assert that he was forced to    resign by the president without due consultations from any member of his family.

 Assuming without conceding that the allegations of corrupt practices against the former Chief Justice of Nigeria and his subsequent resignation is true, it is right to say that his voluntary resignation is commendable, as gives room for a thorough investigation about the matter, in a nutshell, that would give the body saddled with the responsibilities to investigate into the matter and ensure that justice is done.

However, it is worthy of note to know that it is a cardinal principle of our Criminal Justice System that whoever asserts must prove, and as such, no matter how beautiful criminal allegations are, must be proven beyond reasonable doubt and as such, the mere allegations that the former CJN engaged in some corrupt practices in the judiciary would not hold water until same is substantially proven before a court of competent  jurisdiction or a tribunal.

In another realm, it was also    reported by the media that the CJN’s resignation was due to ill health which made him incapacitated to discharge the duty of the holder of such an office judiciously and effectively. Thus, in respect of this notion, it should be noted that as a matter of law, section 231(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Amended envisages the reasons or circumstances that warrant the vacation of the holder of such an office  when is unable to perform the functions of the office.

On the whole, premised on the aforementioned facts, in respect of the first notion of the assertion that the Chief Justice of Nigeria vacated his office due to the allegations of corrupt practices against him, it is right to say that such an act of resignation is indeed commendable as it gives room for further investigation on the matter which strengthen the concept of fair hearing, owing to the fact that investigating a person of his  calibre while still holding the highest office in the judiciary, without mincing words that act itself is injustice, but looking at the other leg of the report that his resignation was due to his ill health, such an act  is a credit to the judiciary, as most public servants find it very difficult to vacate their offices due to ill health or infirmity