Justice Tanko Muhammad Resigns As Chief Justice of Nigeria.

 The Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Tanko Muhammad has resigned..He confirmed sources said he resigned on Sunday night on the grounds of ill-health.

After some hours of denial and confusion, Ahuraka Yusuf Isah, Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, on Monday confirmed the resignation of the CJN.

He said, “The latest information is that the CJN has resigned; I spoke with somebody very close to him and he said he has resigned.”

There was some confusion in the media over the purported resignation of the CJN.

Last week, CJN officially reacted to the allegations of uncaring attitude levelled against him by his brother Justices in the apex Court.

In his first official reaction made public on Tuesday in Abuja, the CJN admitted that the Supreme Court like any other establishment in the country has been hit by a devastating economic crunch.

As a result of the economic crunch, the CJN said that the leadership of the court under him could no longer meet some of its obligations to Justices, especially in the area of welfare.

He however said that the memo sent to him by the aggrieved Justices notwithstanding, there is no rift between him on one side and the Justices of the court on the other side.

The reaction was contained in a statement issued by Isah titled, “State of affairs in the Supreme Court and demand by Justices Of The Supreme Court.”

The statement reads in part, “The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammad would wish to confirm receipt of letter written and addressed to him by his brother Justices of the Supreme Court Bench.

“Judges in all climes are to be seen and not heard, and that informed why the CJN refrained from joining issues until a letter, said to be personal, is spreading across the length and breadth of the society.

“This was akin to dancing naked at the market square by us with the ripple effect of the said letter. The Supreme Court definitely does not exist outside its environment, it is also affected by the economic and socio-political climate prevailing in the country. Besides that, the Apex Court has to a larger extent, been living to its constitutional responsibility.

“When a budget is made, it contains two sides, that’s the recurrent and the capital, yet all the two are broken down into items. The Federal Government releases the budget based on the budget components. A“Take for instance, the Supreme Court budgeted this year to re-roof and rehabilitate its complex built over 30 years ago and that is being done.

“The work on the extension of the complex is near completion, the esthetic lawns and cleanness of the perimeters are being well kept, and security and water supply are adequately provided for his brother Justices in their offices and residences.

“During the period of the pandemic, a profound and extra-care was maintained to avoid causalities among them as well as the staff generally. It would have amounted to an act of irresponsibility to divert money meant for the above for otherwise.

“The accusation so far, in summary, is that more or all ought to have been done and not that nothing has been done; which is utopian in the contemporary condition of our country.

“Before eight new Justices were appointed in 2020 onto the Apex Court bench, there was no additional budget to provide new chambers with an equipped library, legal assistance, residential accommodations and logistics for them.

“The Apex Court has to make do with the resources at its disposal to meet their needs over time. All the Justices of this Court have at least a legal Assistant, except some may opt for more.”

and it’s an offence to spend the money mean

Here are 10 things to know about Tanko Muhammad:

Origin

1 – Justice Tanko Muhammad, a Fulani, was born on December 31, 1953.

2 – He hails from Doguwa, in the Giade Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

Education

3 – He attended Giade Primary School from 1961 to 1968 and proceeded to Government Secondary School, Azare, in 1969 where he obtained the West Africa School Certificate in 1973.

4 –  For his tertiary education, Tanko attended the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he received an LL.B. degree in Islamic Law, from 1976 to 1980.

5 – He later obtained an LL.M. degree and a Ph.D in law from the same university in 1985 and 1998 respectively.

Career

6 – Tanko was called to bar in 1981, the same year he graduated from the Nigerian Law School, and began his career in 1982.

7 – Tanko held the following positions and professional appointments:

• Magistrate Grade II with Bauchi State Judiciary (1982 – 1984)
• Magistrate Grade I & Ag. Snr Magistrate Grade II ( 1984 – 1986)
• Senior Magistrate II (May 1986 – July 1986)
• Provost, College of Legal and Islamic Studies, Bauchi (1986 to 1989)
• Deputy Chief Registrar/Chief Magistrate, FCT High Court (1989 – 1991)
• Judge (Kadi), Bauchi Region Sharia Court of Appeal (1991 – 1993)
• Justice of the Court of Appeal (1993 – 2006)

8 – He was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2006 but was sworn in on January 7, 2007.

9 – Tanko was nominated by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on July 11, 2019, and sworn in as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman National Judicial Council on July 24, 2019.

10 – Tanko Muhammad resigned as the CJN on Monday, June 27, 2022.