The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen has approved the appointment of Justice Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha, a former Senior Special Assistant to Ali Modu Sheriff as Registrar of the Supreme Court.
The appointment was contained in a letter signed by Bilkisu Bashir, the Secretary of the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the CJN, Awassam Bassey, Hadiza Mustapha was “Until her appointment, the deputy chief registrar of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)."
The statement added that she was “born in Gwoza, Borno State on the 8th August 1961, and holds a Bachelor of Law (LL.B) degree from the University of Maiduguri which she earned in 1984 before attending the Nigerian Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos, for her Barrister at Law (BL) programme in 1985.”
It further disclosed that “In 2004, Mrs. Hadizatu Mustapha returned to the Borno State Ministry of Justice as the acting director of public prosecution before joining the Borno State Government as Senior Special Assistant on Administration to the Governor. She was then appointed Director of Legal Services to the Borno State Independent Electoral Commission in 2007.”
“After a four-year stint in the private sector, Mrs. Mustapha joined the Sharia Court of Appeal in the Federal Capital Territory in 2011 as the Deputy Chief Registrar, a position she maintained till her current appointment as the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”
She is expected to take over from Ahmed Saleh who has been appointed the new Secretary of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Meanwhile, the appointment of Hadizatu is generating apprehension amongst stakeholders in the Makarfi-led faction of the PDP. The group claims that with her appointment into the Supreme Court, she might exploit her position to influence the pending ruling in favor of her former boss. Recall that the Supreme Court is yet to give.
Recall that the Supreme Court is yet to give ruling on an appeal filed by Makarfi group seeking to upturn the judgment of An Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt which recognized Sheriff as the authentic National Chairman of the Party.
