The House of Representatives has urged the federal government to appoint nine new justices to the Supreme Court to expedite the hearing and determination of matters for effective and efficient justice delivery in the country.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance by Patrick Umoh (PDP-AkwaIbom) during plenary in Abuja on Thursday.

In his motion, he stated that the apex court’s current number of justices had dropped to an all-time low of 11, making it 10 justices short of its full complement of 21.

According to him, this is as stipulated by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He said the Supreme Court’s docket is full for 2023 as parties could not have a hearing date for matters filed within the year, except in election petitions. The lawmaker said this is due to a considerable volume of pending matters before the court.

He expressed concern that the non-appointment of new justices to the Supreme Court had stalled expeditious, effective and efficient justice delivery and impeded transactions and economic development.

Mr Umoh further said it had also limited citizens’ access to justice, put the current Justices of the court under immense mental and physical pressure, and affected the policy-making function of the court.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for his promise to promote the rule of law and support the Judiciary.

He also lauded the president for signing into the law the constitutional alteration unifying the retirement age and pension benefits of the judicial officers;

While adopting the motion, the House mandated its Committee on Federal Judiciary to ensure compliance with the resolution.

The recommendation from the National Judicial Council for appointing eight new judges in 2020 after the confirmation by the Senate increased the number to 21 Justices.

After the death of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the retirement of Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, the death of Justice Samuel Oseji, the retirements of Mary Odili, Ejembi Eko, Abdu Aboki and Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad, it became a total number of 13 Justices in the apex court, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

(NAN)