The Supreme Court has reserved judgement for a later day, on a suit filed by the 36 States of the federation to nullify President Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive Order 10, 2020, which granted financial autonomy to the judiciary at the state level.
A seven-man panel of Justices of the Apex court led by Justice Musa Datijo, after the parties in the suit, adopted their final addresses.
On May 22, 2020, President Buhari signed Order 10, which mandates all states to include allocations of both the Legislature and the Judiciary in their Appropriation Laws.
Buhari premised on section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended).
Contesting, the 36 States, approached the Apex court querying the legality of the Order.
In their arguments, the plaintiffs submitted that, by virtue of the said Executive Order, FG pushed the federal government’s responsibility of funding both the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state High courts, Sharia Court of Appeal, and the Customary Court of Appeal, to the State governments.
They posited that the order contravenes sections 6 and 8(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandated the federal government to fund the listed courts.
The 36 states, submitted that they had been funding capital projects in the listed courts since 2009.
Consequently, they prayed the Supreme Court to order the federal government to make a refund to them.
Furtherance to the above, the plaintiffs are also seeking an order of the Apex court to compel the FG to henceforth, fund both capital and recurrent expenditures of the courts.
While adopting their final addresses, yesterday, counsel to the Plaintiffs, Augustine Alegeh, SAN, argued that salaries, emoluments, remuneration and allowances of judges, are not supposed to be in any appropriation bill.
He contended that under Section 84(4) of the Constitution, as amended, funds for such expenditure, are charged and captured in the consolidated revenue fund, not in the budget.
According to him, his clients have so far, expended about N66billion in the maintainance of state courts.
He, therefore, demanded a refund.
On his part, counsel to the AGF, Mr. Tijjani Gazali, SAN, told the court that he filed a preliminary objection and a counter-affidavit in vehement opposition to the suit.
He said the Executive Order 10 was based on a judgement of the Federal High Court that ordered financial autonomy for the judiciary at the state level.
Gazali told the apex court that the said judgement followed a suit that was filed by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, in which the NJC, the AGF and the AG of all the 36 states, were cited as Respondents.
However, Alegeh urged the Supreme Court to discountenance the argument by the AGF, stressing that JUSUN as a body, lacked the locus-standi to file a suit in any dispute between the state and the FG.
Meanwhile, four Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs; Adegboyega Awomolo, Olisa Agbakoba, Sebastian Hon, Mahmud Magaji and Musibau Adetunbi, announced their appearances as amicus curiae (friends of the court).
On his part, Agbakoba, SAN, maintained that both FG and all the 36 states had in the past 20 years, violated provisions of the Constitution.
Though he urged the Supreme Court to uphold the suit by states, Agbakoba, however, kicked against their request for a refund of about N66billion the Plaintiffs claimed they have so far expended in running courts in their territories.
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) was mentioned as the only Respondent in the suit marked SC/655/2020.