A team of 22 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) on Monday stormed the Supreme Court on the legality or otherwise of the contentious Executive Order 10 issued by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The senior lawyers, as amicus curies (friends of the court) visited the court at about 8 am on the invitation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, to make submissions that will guide the court in making a well-informed decision on the issue.
Buhari had on January 18, 2021, issued Executive Order 10 backing financial autonomy to the State judiciary.
However, state governors objected the president’s order, and subsequently instituted a suit at the Supreme Court to challenge its legality
The executive order became contentious following the vehement objections to it by the state governors.
Led by two former presidents of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Adegboyega Awomolo and Olisa Agbakoba, are billed to argue on the legality or otherwise of the Executive Order.
Plaintiffs are the 36 Attorneys-General of the 36 states of the federation being led by the Attorney General of Abia state while the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, is the defendant.
Lead counsel to the plaintiffs is a former President of the NBA and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Augustine Alegeh, while the AGF is having Tijani Gazali, SAN. as his lead counsel.
