President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has mandated the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to, as a matter of urgency, wade into the crisis presently rocking the Judiciary.
Lawan, who gave the directive on Wednesday moments before the Chamber adjourned plenary, said: “We may recall that there were some issues coming out of the Judiciary. We must have interest in what is happening in that arm of government.
“I believe that we owe it to Nigerians, to look into what is happening in that arm of government, with the view to bringing solutions to the problem that our Judiciary in Nigeria faces.
“So, I’ll urge our Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, to get involved with the CJN and Judiciary generally – at this level with the Supreme Court – to find out what the real issues are; and how the National Assembly can help.”
Recently, 14 Justices of the Supreme Court leveled allegations of corruption against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed.
The Justices, in a memo, protested the non-payment of legitimate entitlements by the CJN.
According to them, annual foreign training, meant to enhance capacity building for the country’s judicial process, had been blocked.
They also protested the non-replacement of poor vehicles; accommodation problem; lack of drugs at the Supreme Court clinic; epileptic electricity supply to the Supreme Court; increase in electricity tariff; no increase in the allowances for diesel; lack of internet services to residences and chambers, amongst others.