BREAKING: CJN Tanko Muhammed resigns

BREAKING: CJN Tanko Muhammed resigns

Justice Tanko Muhammad has resigned as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Citing sources, Channels Television confirmed that he resigned on Sunday night on the grounds of ill-health.

When contacted, the Special Adviser on Media and Communication to CJN, Ahuraka Yusuf Isah, said, “All I know is that he’s going to declare open a workshop this morning at the NJI (National Judicial Institute).”later Ahuraka, confirmed his resignation to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Other attempts to reach close associates of the CJN, such as Dr Mike Ozekhome (SAN), proved abortive as they didn’t take their calls.

Following his resignation, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola will be the next acting Chief Justice of Nigeria sequel to Senate’s confirmation.

Mohammed resigned in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari swore in Mohammed as the acting CJN in January 2019 following the suspension and later sack of former CJN Walter Onnoghen.

Justice Olukayode Ariwoola is the next most senior judge to Justice Mohammed following Justice Mary Odili retired on May 12 after attaining the retirement age of 70.

Mohammed’s resignation comes amid the corruption allegations leveled against him by some Supreme Court judges.

Fourteen Supreme Court judges in a protest memo accused Mohammed of not giving justices their legitimate entitlements.

The justices said their annual foreign training, meant to enhance capacity building for the country’s judicial process, had been blocked by Muhammad.

The main issues put forward by the justices in their letter through a welfare committee were; 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.

In response, Mohammed told the judges that the Supreme Court was cash-strapped and cannot grant their requests.

CJN noted that the Supreme Court, like any other establishment in the country, has been hit by a devastating economic crunch.

As a result, he said the leadership of the court under him could no longer meet some of its obligations to Justices, especially in the area of welfare.

He, however, said that the memo sent to him by the aggrieved Justices, notwithstanding, there is no rift between him and Justices of the apex court.