ZYNGA NEWS

A new online enrollment system for Nigerian Law School graduates who successfully passed the Bar exams has been  launched by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.  This initiative is aimed at streamlining the process of obtaining enrollment numbers and certificates, to practice as Lawyers in Nigeria. According to the official notice, all candidates who successfully completed the Nigerian Law School program and qualify as barristers and solicitors of the Supreme Court of Nigeria are now required to register on the dedicated portal, before their official Call to Bar ceremony, to enable them have their enrollment numbers without delay, after the ceremony.   https://lawyerenrollment.com.ng/ ,  The online enrollment and verification system will eliminate the manual registration and verification process on the day of the Call to Bar ceremony and enable new wigs to submit their details in advance.  Upon completion of the Call to Bar proceedings, graduates can then promptly visit the Supreme Court com

  The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola will on Monday swear-in the 11 Justices of the Supreme Court whose appointment was confirmed by the Senate on December 21 last year. Spokesman of the supreme court, Dr. Festus Akande confirmed that the event will hold by 10 am at the main courtroom of the court. The Justices are; Justice Jummai Hannatu Sankey Justice Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa Justice Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani  Justice Moore Aseimo A. Adumein. Justices Obande Festus Ogbuinya, Justice Stephen Jonah Adah Justice Habeeb Adewale O. Abiru Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar Justice Mohammed Baba Idris.

The inauguration of 11 newly appointed Supreme Court Justices is being delayed due to accommodation and logistical constraints, inside sources have revealed. The Justices were confirmed by Senate in December 2023 to fill vacancies in the under-staffed apex court, but they are yet to be sworn-in. With 10 out of the constitutionally required 21 justices left at the Supreme Court going into the election appeal cases of last year’s general elections, public outcry led to an accelerated nomination and confirmation of the 11 Justices'. The Senate on December 21, 2023, confirmed Haruna Tsammani (North East);  Moore Adumein (South South);  Jummai Sankey (North Central);  Chidiebere Uwa (South East); and  Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (South East). Others are;  Obande Ogbuinya (South East);  Stephen Adah (North Central);  Habeeb Abiru (South-West);  Jamilu Tukur (North West);  Abubakar Umar (North West); and  Mohammed Idris (North Central) A staff member of the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJS

Nigeria’s Supreme Court spent over 12 Billion in breach of financial regulations for five years, the latest audit report of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) has revealed. The funds should be recovered and remitted to the treasury by the Chief Registrar of the court, the audit report, released in December 2023, recommended. The report essentially covers the expenditures and finances of ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government for the 2020 fiscal year, but for the Supreme Court, it stretches forward and backwards to touch on some major payments and transactions executed from 2017 to 2021. The current Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Hajo Sarki-Bello, assumed office in 2021, a year after the alleged infractions took place under Hadizatu Uwani-Mustapha. Mrs Uwani-Mustapha, who was the Supreme Court’s chief registrar for most of the period when the flagged transactions took place, retired from the court as Chief Registrar in June 2021. W

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal by a former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, against the judgments of the lower court which imprisoned him A Federal Capital Territory High Court had sentenced  Lawan to seven years imprisonment for receiving a $500,000 bribe while serving as the chairman of the House’s ad-hoc committee investigating the fuel subsidy fraud in 2012. The trial judge, Angela Otaluka, held that Lawan demanded $3m and received $500,000 from Femi Otedola in 2012 to remove Otedola’s oil company, Zenon Oil and Gas, from the list of firms indicted for fraud in the fuel subsidy regime. She also held that  Lawan was guilty of all three counts of corruption and bribery. Not satisfied, Lawan approached the appellate court where his jail term was reduced from seven to five years. Lawan is at the apex court urging the court to set aside the judgments of the lower court. Reading the lead judgment, Justice Tijani Abubakar upheld the decision of the ap

  CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO HIS EXCELLENCY, ELDER SHERIFF FRANCIS OBOREVWORI, ON HIS VICTORY AT THE SUPREME COURT. 1. Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the Elder Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration, our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the good people of Delta State as the Supreme Court upholds the mandate that the people unanimously gave to our dear governor, His Excellency Sheriff Francis Oborevwori, earlier last year. 2. It was a long road from the polling units to the election tribunal, the Court of Appeal, and finally, the Supreme Court. 3. My family and I, including the good people of Ughelli South are happy to celebrate with His Excellency, Governor Sheriff Francis Oborevwori, on this special day.  In fact, this can only God. 4. Your Excellency, let me use this occasion to re-assure you of our continued support and commitment to the success of your M.O.R.E. agenda. 5. And I also use this medium to call on the opposition to join hands to suppo

By Femi Falana SAN Last Friday, the Supreme Court delivered 8 judgments in appeals arising from governorship election disputes.  While 5 judgments of the Court of Appeal were upheld, 3 were upturned.  The upturned judgments pertain to the cases of the governors of Kano, Plateau and Zamfara States.  Many stakeholders have commended the Supreme Court for the landmark judgments.  Apart from the concurrent judgments of the Tribunal and Court of Appeal in the Kano State governorship election petition which cannot be justified as voters were illegally penalised for the negligence of electoral officers, the Court of Appeal may be said to have relied on judgments of the Supreme Court in the other two cases. Specifically, the controversial theory of inconclusive elections became part of the nation’s electoral jurisprudence in the case of Faleke v independent National Electoral Commission (2016) 18 NWLR PT.1543.  The Faleke’s case justified the finding of the Court of Appeal to the effect the go

At a recent public function with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Tinubu where the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was also in attendance, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba SAN, lamented the presence of a cabal in the Supreme Court that deliberately keeps senior lawyers away from being appointed to the bench calling on Akpabio to lead the federal lawmakers to make laws for the appointment of senior judges in the country. According to him, “I was the first, accompanied by my brother, Wole Olanipekun to apply because we thought we were qualified to sit at the Supreme Court. The mafia there threw us out.” Similarly, repeated effort by the Bar has been unsuccessful in getting senior lawyers appointed to superior courts of record, especially the Supreme Court. Despite the harsh criticism, Justices of the court below (Appeal court) are about to become the majority in the Supreme Court, once the 11 justices, cleared by the Senate on December 21, 2023, are

FOLLOWING a stinging rebuke of the quality of Judgments coming from the Court of Appeal, by the Supreme Court, judicial stakeholders are expressing worries about the future of the apex court, tribuneonlineng report. Sunday Tribune understands that the top Bench, since the return to civil rule, has been sourcing its judicial personnel, mainly from the intermediate Bench. But on Friday, while reversing the sacking of three governors by the Court of Appeal, the apex court descended on the lower court and berated the quality of its interpretation of the law in political cases. In reversing the Court of Appeal’s judgment that removed Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State, Justices Helen Ogunwumiju and Adamu Jauro excoriated the appelate court for shifting the burden of proof on the governor. “It was very wrong for the Court of Appeal to go into the issue of party congresses.  To make matters worse, the party challenging the issue is another political party,” Ogunwumiju remonstrated. A su

The Senate committee on Judicary and Human Right has commenced screening of the 11 nominees to the vacant Supreme court bench. The names of the nominees were sent to the Senate today by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for screening and approval by the Senate. Confirming commencement of the screening exercise, senator representing Oyo South senatorial district, who is also a member of the Senate committee on Judicary and Human Rights, Sen. (Barr.) Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli said the exercise has commenced in earnest, "They're being screened now by the Committee on Judiciary and Human Right of which I am a member", he said. The Justices of the Court of Appeal currently being screened for elevation to the supreme court bench are; Justice Jummai Sankey Justice S tephen Adah J ustice Mohammed Idris Justice Haruna Tsammani Justice Jamilu Tukur Justice Abubakar Umar Justice Chidiebere Uwa Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme Justice Obande Ogbuinya Justice Moore Adumein  Justice Habeeb Abiru

President Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to confirm the appointment of 11 new Justices nominated to the Supreme Court bench. The president, in a letter to the upper legislative chamber read at Wednesday’s plenary, listed the names of the judicial officers as follows; Justice Jummai Sankey Justice S tephen Adah J ustice Mohammed Idris Justice Haruna Tsammani Justice Jamilu Tukur Justice Abubakar Umar Justice Chidiebere Uwa Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme Justice Obande Ogbuinya Justice Moore Adumein  Justice Habeeb Abiru S ection 231(2) of the 1999 Constitution which empowers the president to appoint new Supreme Court justices subject to confirmation by the Senate. The correspondence from President Tinubu is coming weeks after the National Judicial Council (NJC) had in October recommended to him the elevation of the nominated judges to the apex court and the upper legislative chamber is expected to expedite action on screening and confirming the new justices. The approval by senato

The Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Port-Harcourt Division, Justice Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh has died. Justice Ikyegh who hailed from Benue State reportedly died Wednesday afternoon at his Makurdi residence located at the Achussa Community area of the state capital. The death of Justice Ikyegh was reportedly made known when the Chief Judge of Benue state, Justice Maurice Ikpambese during a public function in Makurdi called for a minute silence in his honour. Though no official statement has been issued by his family on his demise, it was gathered that the deceased collapse while making a phone call at home and effort by family members to revive him was unsuccessful. According to a source “he was then rushed to the Benue State University Teaching Hopsital, BSUTH, Makurdi where he was confirmed dead by medical doctors.” I t was gathered that the 65 years old jurist was known for his sound judgements and forthrightness. The late jurist recently made the list of the 22 Justices of the Co