Senate confirms John Tsoho as Chief Judge of Federal High Court

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Justice John Tsoho as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

Senate also approved the appointment of Honourable Justice Benedict Bakwaph Kanyip as the President of the National Industrial Court (NIC) of Nigeria.

Mr Tsoho was on July 26 sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, in an acting capacity.

His appointment followed the retirement of Adamu AbdulKafarati, who attained the retirement age of 65 years on July 25.

His confirmation by the Senate followed the presentation of the report on the screening of the nominees by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele on the floor.

Senator Bamidele recommended the two Justices to the Senate for confirmation “having screened the nominees and being satisfied with their exposure, experience, performance, qualifications and competence. After a thorough screening they were confirmed.

Lawan in his remarks said the National Assembly will work with the executive to ensure a conducive working environment for the nation’s judiciary.

Lawan said: “The judiciary in Nigeria is supposed to be a very active one. We need to also have better capacity for the judiciary.

“They have so many cases to handle and they are overwhelmed. I think this National Assembly should work together with the executive to create a better working environment and of course to create a situation where they would have more hands so that they are able to deal with the numerous cases that we always go to the judiciary for.

“But at the moment, I think they are overworked, they are overwhelmed and they need our support.

“We need to look for more resources to ensure that our judiciary is properly oiled to function,” Lawan said.