State Governments Can’t Guarantee Financial Autonomy For Judiciary – Sebastian Hon

Constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), Mr Sebastian Hon has come out to say that the realization of financial independence of the judiciary lies solely with the Federal Government.

Hon recently made the assertion in a letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, entitled: “The JUSUN Strike Action and the Correct Position of the Constitution on Financial Independence for the Judiciary in Nigeria.”

According to him, the ongoing indefinite nationwide strike by judiciary workers could have been averted if the constitution had been properly understood and interpreted by parties.

He added that state governments cannot help us realize financial independence of the judiciary, and it is the work of FG alone.

His words, “Section 318(1) defines federation as the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Clearly, therefore, the framers of the constitution wanted those courts that are wrongly labeled state courts to be courts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

“This means they are federal courts, which are, however, established for each state, just for geographical and other administrative reasons.”

“The said Executive Order 10 is also in conflict with the express provisions of Sections 6(1), (3)(5) read together with Sections 81(3) and 84(1)(4)(7) of the Constitution.”

“It runs counter to Section 121(3) as amended since as against the wrong notion held by Mr President, neither the original text of that subsection nor its amended version has anything to do with superior courts of records, even though located in the various states and acting as state courts.”

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Muhammadu Buhari GCFR (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician currently serving as the President of Nigeria, in office since 2015. He is a retired major general in the Nigerian Army and previously served as the nation’s head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, after taking power in a military coup d’état. The term Buharism is ascribed to the Buhari military government.

He unsuccessfully ran for the office of president of Nigeria in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 general elections. In December 2014, he emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the March 2015 general elections. Buhari won the election, defeating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. This marked the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost to an opposition candidate in a general election. He was sworn in on 29 May 2015. In February 2019, Buhari was re-elected President, defeating his closest rival Atiku Abubakar by over 3 million votes.

Buhari has stated that he takes responsibility for anything over which he presided during his military rule, and that he cannot change the past. He has described himself as a “converted democrat”.

Muhammadu Buhari was born to a Fulani family on 17 December 1942, in Daura, Katsina State, to his father Hardo Adamu, a Fulani chief, and mother Zulaihat. He is the twenty-third child of his father. Buhari was raised by his mother, after his father died when he was about four years old.