Senate confirms Mohammed as CJN

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Justice Mahmud Mohammed as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

The confirmation was in line with Section 231(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Before Mohammed was asked to “take a bow and go” Senators drilled Mohammed in a question and answer session.

Mohammed described prosecutors as major clogs in the wheel of judicial system in the country.

He also said that contrary to insinuations, nothing in the constitution stops the President from appointing the CJN from body of legal practitioners in the country.

The CJN designate opposed the creation of special courts to deal with special cases like corruption.

He noted that with the right frame of mind and the will to prosecute, no corruption case would last more than one week.

He insisted that the problem is not with the courts but with the personnel in the courts.

He said, “Honestly I do not support the creation of special courts specifically to deal with cases like corruption and so on. It is human beings who are managing the courts. It is not the court itself. No matter who you put there, if his integrity is not in good shape you will see that the matters will not move.

“It does not matter the name of the court but the actual personnel in the court. That is why as far as I am concerned, all these corruption cases could be dealt with by courts which are already in place.”