Nigerian lawyers threaten Buhari over ‘constitutional dereliction’

Nigerian lawyers under the auspices of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, on Friday threatened to institute a legal action against President Muhammadu Buhari, if he continued with what the body described as “constitutional dereliction” in governance.Nigerian lawy

Handing this warning during the opening of the association’s two-day National Executive Committee meeting in Kano, NBA President, A. B. Mahmoud, accused Buhari of neglecting to act on the recommendations of the National Judicial Council, NJC, to appoint 13 justices of the Court of Appeal since November 2017.

He said, “Similarly, several recommendations for appointments to the Bench of the Federal High Court and other Federal courts are still pending many months after these recommendations to the President.

“Acting on the recommendations of the NJC is not a matter of presidential discretion, to be exercised whenever the President deems fit. It is a constitutional duty.

“Whilst the President is not bound to accept the recommendations, failure to act is a breach of the constitution. I therefore call on the President to act without further delay. This failure to act is causing unnecessary delays and avoidable negative consequences on the administration of justice across the country.”