Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, says President
Muhammadu Buhari has not appointed Monica Dongban-Mensem as the substantive
president of the court of appeal because the relevant security agencies are not
done screening her.
Dongban-Mensem has been acting as head of the appellate
court since the retirement of Zainab Bulkachuwa in March.
Although the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended her
as the substantive head of the court, Buhari did not send her name to the
senate for confirmation.
Instead, the president recently extended her tenure as
acting president of the court till September.
Sources had disclosed that dirt-digging is being
employed by some presidential advisers to get Dongban-Mensem disqualified and
pave the way for Mohammed Lawal Garba, judge who chaired the 2019 presidential
election petitions tribunal that ruled in favour of Buhari.
A source said her national youth service record is being
scrutinised
In his statement, Shehu did not directly say that the NYSC
record of Dongban-Mensem is being checked but he made reference to Kemi Adeosun
who stepped down as minister of finance over alleged forgery of NYSC exemption
certificate.
Shehu said Buhari ensures that all appointments meet the
requirements of the constitution.
“The president has a duty to ensure that all such
appointments meet the requirements of the constitution and protecting the
supreme law of the land in this regard, he has an obligation to allow law
enforcement and security agencies to do their work,” he said.
“Don’t forget our recent experience with ministers who were
signed off upon and turned out as having not undertaken the compulsory National
Youth Service, just to give you an example.
“In the specific case of the acting president of the Court
of Appeal, Her Lordship Justice M. S Dongban-Mensem, the statutory regulatory
time of her acting period has not lapsed. This is not about ethnicity or
religion. It is about security and law enforcement agencies being allowed to
complete their work.
“Nobody should seek to stampede the President in carrying
out his constitutional duty in this respect.
“The president had not been a rubber stamp dealing with
these matters before, and is not prepared to be one at this time. Let all allow
the system to do what is right.”
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