No Human Being Can Influence Supreme Court Judgements—Ag CJN
Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad, said, yesterday, that no human being, either living or dead, could influence the Supreme Court to pervert the course of justice in any case brought before it.
Muhammad, who spoke when top officials of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, paid him a courtesy visit at his chambers, said the apex court would not succumb to any form of external pressure.
Besides, he maintained that justices of the Supreme Court were independent-minded, stressing that they were only answerable to their conscience and God while writing and delivering judgements in all cases that come before them.
He said: “We take our time in taking notes and writing judgements to avoid making mistakes. We subject every case before us to intense debates and arguments during our conferences to be as dispassionate and objective as possible. N1bn Imo debt: Court grants leave for 17 banks to show cause not to garnishee state accounts
“Let me state clearly that we are not answerable to anybody and can never be intimidated by anybody whatsoever in taking our decisions. But for certain, we are only answerable to God Almighty because He is the owner of our lives. No human being, living or dead can influence the reasoning or judgements of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“We are very independent in Supreme Court because of the enormity of the trust and responsibility reposed in us by the almighty God, the constitution and our dear nation.”
However, Muhammad decried that the Supreme Court of Nigeria has so far remained the busiest and most hardworking apex court in the world, considering the number of appeals received and heard on weekly basis and number of judgements delivered within a short duration.
He said: “I beat my chest to say that there is no Supreme Court in the world that works the way Supreme Court of Nigeria does. “Except when we go on our annual vacation between late July and early September of every year, we keep hearing appeals. It is on record that there is no day of the week, between Monday and Friday, that we don’t sit.
“We deliver judgements on Fridays. Sometimes, we give as much as 35 judgements on some Fridays. We oftentimes over-stretch ourselves, as we work assiduously day in, day out. He assured the AMCON management that the court, in spite of the rapid inflow of appeals, will always endeavour to bend over backwards to give all cases involving both private individuals and other critical sectors of the country expeditious hearing and attention.
Earlier in his address, AMCON Chairman, Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN, told the acting CJN and other justices of the Supreme Court present at the meeting that the organisation was established in 2010 by an Act of Parliament, to assist in stabilising the financial system, due to the economic downturn that occurred between 2006 and 2008.
He said the corporation, subsequently, acquired over 120,000 loans from 23 banks, totalling N3.8 trillion. The AMCON Chairman further stated that additional N2.2trn was paid as financial accommodation for some ailing banks.
According to him, the total current exposure as at April 30th, 2019, stood at N4.19 trillion, with an excess of 7,000 outstanding obligors.
Banire lamented that top 350 obligors accounted for 82% of the outstanding loans of N4.19 trillion, while just the top 100 made up 67%. He told the apex court justices that top 20 accounts with total current exposure of N1.71 trillion, made 41% of the total current exposure of N4.19 trillion. He said a major challenge the Corporation faced was the delay tactics often employed by defaulters who, he said, were bent on frustrating cases currently pending in various courts across the country.
Other Justices at the meeting were Olukayode Ariwoola, Kekere-Ekun, Musa Dattijo, Ejembi Eko and Uwani Abba-Aji.
