Ozekhome Reacts As Dattijo Faults CJN’s Enormous Powers

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has backed the statement by the former Justice of the Supreme Court, Musa Dattijo, that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) has enormous powers.

Recall that retired Justice Dattijo, at a valedictory session organised in his honour last Friday, had said that the CJN wields enormous powers capable of derailing the course of justice.

Dattijo said the CJN is the Chairman of the National Judicial Commission (NJC), which oversees both the appointment and discipline of judges, and he is equally the chair of the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), the National Judicial Institute (NJI), and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) that appoints Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

The former justice stated that there is a need to prune the powers of the CJN, given the oversight functions he exercises on the number of legal institutions across the country.

Justice Dattijo also called for a paradigm shift, noting that such enormous powers “are effortlessly abused”.

Speaking in an interview with The Punch over the weekend, Ozekhome called for the powers of the CJN to be reduced through a constitutional amendment.

The senior lawyer also called for the immediate appointment of more Supreme Court justices following the exclusion of the South East and North Central from the apex court.

He said: “We know that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, no matter how humble such a person will be. I will, therefore, urge that the constitutional amendment take these things into consideration.”