By Uche Mbah
Facts are now emerging on why President Muhammadu Buhari finally appears to have succumbed to pressure to confirm the appointment of Justice Monica Dumgban Mensem as the President of the Court of Appeal. The justice has been on Acting capacity for a second consecutive three months since the President has delayed her confirmation citing clearance by security agencies. This is despite the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommending her confirmation as the substantive appeal court president.
The Presidency has finally forwarded her name to the Senate for confirmation.
This Magazine was told that International Pressures may have been allegedly mounted on the federal government to approve the nomination to prove that there is no ethnic or religious bias. It was gathered that the Activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, led by Nnamdi Kanu, now in self-exile, may have rattled the presidency in recent times, particularly as news filtered in of the United Nations may have given a nod for the creation of a country, Ambazonia, out of the English speaking areas of Cameroun and about 24 local governments of Nigeria. This may include the disputed Bakassi Penisular and some local areas in Adamawa State, including former Vice president Atiku Abubakar’s local council.
Garba Shehu, Buhari’s Spokesperson, has insisted that Kanu is using the persecution of Christians to blackmail Nigeria and that Nigeria and the rest of the world should ignore him. Hours after the statement, President Buhari sent the name to the Senate for confirmation.
There has been an uproar over the delay in her confirmation, with many Nigerians being of the opinion she was being unduly delayed because she is a Christian from what is regarded as the middle belt. Only recently, Dangiwa Umar, a retired colonel, lamented that the way the Presidency is favoring a section of the country is not healthy for the country. According to him, Buhari’s “undue preference to some sections of the country over others” in appointments will spell doom for the country.
“May I also invite the attention of Mr. President to the pending matter of appointment of a Chief Judge of the Nigerian Court Appeal which appears to be generating public interest,” Umar wrote in an open letter to President Buhari. “As it is, the most senior Judge, Justice Monica Dongban Mensem, a northern Christian, is serving out her second three-month term as acting Chief Judge without firm prospects that she will be confirmed substantive head.”
Presidency had claimed that her appointment is awaiting security clearance, but this could have been done before the National Judicial Commission recommend anyone to the president.
In a release on Sunday, Garba Shehu, Buhari spokesperson, sought to defend the delay.
“In the specific case of the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Her Lordship Justice M. S Dongban-Mensem, the statutory regulatory time of her acting period has not lapsed. This is not about ethnicity or religion. It is about security and law enforcement agencies being allowed to complete their work. Nobody should seek to stampede the President in carrying out his constitutional duty in this respect,” he wrote.
