The Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) has
recommended Justice Mahmud Mohammed as replacement for the outgoing Chief
Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar.
Justice Mariam Mukhtar, who made history as the first female
CJN will retire on November 20 when she would have attained the mandatory
retirement age of 70. She was born on November 20th, 1944.
The FJSC met in Abuja last Thursday to recommend Justice
Mohammed t the National Judicial Council (NJC) for further recommendation to
President Goodluck Jonathan.
Justice Mohammed is said to be the next senior justice of
the Supreme Court.
Based on FJSC’s recommendation, the NJC will meet tomorrow
to take a decision on this and is expected to recommend Justice Mahmud to the
president for appointment as the next CJN.
Presently, Justice Mahmud is the Deputy Chairman of the NJC.
The CJN chairs both the FJSC and the NJC.
The council will also nominate Justice Walter Nkanu-Onnoghen
alongside Mohammed to succeed the latter as the deputy chairman of the
NJC. Nkanu-Onnoghen is next to Mohammed
in seniority.
Justice Mohammed, who hails from Jalingo in Taraba State,
was born on the 10th of November 1946.
He studied for his Bachelor’s degree in Law (LL.B) at Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1970, after which he attended the
Nigerian Law School in Lagos and was subsequently called to bar in 1971.
He began his career in the public service with the Ministry
of Justice of the defunct Northeastern and Gongola States, as well as serving
on the bench in Gongola.
In 1991, he was appointed the acting Chief judge of Taraba
State, and later confirmed as the substantive Chief Judge of the state in the
same year.
Prior to being appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court in
2005, he was a justice of the Court of Appeal and then its presiding justice.
In addition to his legal qualifications, he holds a
certificate in Legislative Drafting from the Commonwealth Institute of
Legislative Drafting; a certificate in Human Resource Planning and Management
from the National Institute of Public Management, Washington USA; a certificate
of Administration of Justice in a Presidential System of Government from the
Institute of Judicial Administration, University of New York, USA; and a
certificate from a Government Legal Advisers course from the Institute of
Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, UK.
In his years in public service, he has served as a member of
several committees and panels.
He holds the national honours of the Commander of Order of
the Niger (CON) and Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
(OFR), and is a member of the Bar Council, Council of Legal Education and the
Body of Benchers.
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