President Muhammadu Buhari has sent the names of Justice Sidi Dauda Bage and Justice Paul Adamu to the Nigerian Senate for confirmation as justices of the Supreme Court.
These names were included into a letter sent by the president to Senate President Bukola Saraki which was read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, October 11, 2016.
SP @bukolasaraki announces communication from @NGRPresident @MBuhari requesting confirmation of appointment two Supreme Court Justice.
— The Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) October 11, 2016
This moves comes three days after operatives of the Department of State Security Services, DSS, acting on the orders of President Buhari raided the homes of seven federal judges, including two Supreme Court justices on Saturday, October 8, 2016.
The judges were arrested by the secret police and reportedly released on bail by “self recognition” the next day. The midnight raids on the judiciary by the presidency has been widely condemned in Nigeria and across the continent.
Mahmud Mohammed, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, has condemned the attack on the judges and confronted the president in Aso Rock on the unconstitutional action of the DSS.
The two new Supreme Court Justice nominees are of northern extraction.
