The Nigerian Senate has confirmed the
appointment of Justice Chima Nweze
as Justice of the Supreme Court
following his screening by the
Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights
and Legal Matters.
He is the 17th judge to be appointed
into the court, headed by Justice
Aloma Mariam Mukhtar
The senate, on receipt of the letter of
nomination from President Goodluck
Jonathan, referred the nominee to its
Committee on Judiciary for scrutiny.
The president, in conformity with
Section 231 (2) of the 1999
Constitution as amended, has powers
to appoint a Justice of the Supreme
Court of Nigeria.
This is on the recommendation of the
National Judicial Council (NJC) and
subject to confirmation by the senate.
Nweze had served in the Calabar
division of the Federal Court of
Appeal and in Lagos before his
elevation.
Some of his recent pronouncements
was on the FOI Act, where he
criticised the Lagos State government
for insisting it wants to domesticate
the law, already enacted by the
Federal parliament.
He said the Lagos position was not in
accordance with the provisions of the
law.
Speaking at a one day seminar
organised by the Lagos based human
rights group, Socio-Economic Rights
and Accountability Project (SERAP) in
conjunction with MacArthur
Foundation on the role of lawyers and
judges in the implementation of FOI
Act, Justice Nweze maintained that it
was an abuse of language for a state
government to claim that it cannot
implement FOI Act until it is
domesticated in such state.
The Appeal Court judge held that
domestication relates to international
treaties and agreements signed by the
Federal Government, and that it was
improper for a state government to
hide under such to avoid
implementing the FOI Act.
In May last year, Nweze, as an appeal
court judge in Lagos had upturned the
N25million damage awarded by a
lower court against the National Drug
Law and Enforcement Agency, over
the 24-day detention of Babatunde
Omidina, alias Baba Suwe, on
suspicion of drug trafficking.
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