As the tenure of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed draws to a close, the Federal Judicial Service Council (FJSC) yesterday forwarded the names of the three most senior Justices of the Supreme Court to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for consideration.
They are Justices Walter Onnoghen (who is next to Mohammed), Ibrahim Muhammad and Suleiman Galadima.
By the standard procedure, NJC is required to consider the three names sent by FJSC and recommend one of them to President Muhammadu Buhari for appointment before the expiration of the incumbent CJN’s tenure on November 10.
The NJC, headed by the incumbent CJN, is likely to favour the choice of Onnoghen because of its reluctance to shed its tradition of allowing the most senior Justice succeed a departing CJN.
Justice Onnoghen was born in 1950 and elevated to the Supreme Court bench in 2005.
Justice Muhammad, born on December 31, 1953, was appointed to the apex court bench on January 7, 2007.
Justice Galadima, born on October in 1946 in Nasarawa State, was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court in 2010.