The Supreme Court on Friday in Abuja nullified Executive Order 10 initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari to grant financial autonomy to state judiciaries and legislature.
The apex court held that Executive Order 10 was inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and therefore unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
In the same vein, the court rejected the request of the 36 state governments for an order to compel the Federal Government to take up funding of capital projects for State High Courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal.
The justices also refused to grant an order sought by the 36 state governors to compel the Federal Government to pay them N66 billion, an amount they claimed to have so far spent on capital projects for the three courts in their respective states.
Six justices, led by Mohammed Musa Dattijo, agreed that the contentious Executive Order 10 violated the provisions of the 1999 Constitution which clearly stipulates the functions and powers of heads of each arm of the government.
According to them, President Muhammadu Buhari over-stepped his boundaries with Executive Order 10 and thereby engaged in a breach of the constitution and usurpation of powers of heads of other arms of government.
The six justices are Muhammed Dattijo, Centus Chima Nweze, Hellen Ogunwumiju, Emmanuel Agim, Ejembi Eko and Adamu Jauro.
Only Justice Uwani Abba-Aji gave an endorsement to the order, adding that it was in line with the provisions of the Constitution to enforce the separation of powers and functions.
However, four of the seven-man panel of justices turned down the request of the 36 state governors for an order of the apex court to compel the Federal Government to take up funding of capital projects for State High Courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal,
The four justices upheld the opposition of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami SAN, and two other senior lawyers, Mahmud Magaji SAN and Musibawu Adetumbi SAN on the issue.
They upheld the arguments of Malami, Magaji and Adetunbi to the effect that capital projects for the three courts should be funded by the states and not the Federal Government.
The apex court justices specifically agreed with Adetunbi, who was one of the amici curiae, that the 1999 Constitution has sufficiently provided the manner the federal and states should fund their courts.
They further upheld his submission that part of the load that the Constitution wants the Federal Government to carry is narrowed down in Section 84(7) while Section 121 also narrows down the load it wants the state governments to carry.
Adetunbi’s opposition against Executive Order 10 and his prayer that it should be declared illegal, unconstitutional, voided and set aside was also upheld.
With the majority decision, the state governments are to continue funding the three courts as they have been doing since 1999.
Dear readers, we really need your support to keep on serving you with authoritative, truthful, and juicy stories everyday. For your support, please reach out to the editor @gavelinternational66@gmail.com