NBA threatens to sue Buhari over ‘constitutional dereliction’

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Friday threatened President Muhammadu Buhari with legal action should he continue with what it described as “constitutional dereliction” in governance.

President of the association, Mr. A. B. Mahmoud, who sounded this warning in his address during the opening of the association’s two-day National Executive Committee meeting in Kano, accused the president of neglecting to act on the recommendations of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to appoint 13 justices of the Court of Appeal since November 2017.

“Similarly, several recommendations for appointments to the Bench of the Federal High Court and other federal courts are still pending many months after this recommendations to the president.

“Acting on the recommendations of the NJC is not a matter of presidential discretion to be exercised whenever the president deems fit. It is a constitutional duty.”

He said while the president is not bound to accept the recommendations, failure to act is a breach of the constitution and therefore called on the president to act without further delay.

“This failure to act is causing unnecessary delays and avoidable negative consequences on the administration of justice across the country,” Mahmoud said.