The 36 Nigerian Governors have dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to Supreme Court over his Presidential Executive Order No. 00-10 of 2020 signed into law in May 2020.
The order pushes the Federal Government’s responsibility of funding both the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state high courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal, to the state governments.
The Governors argued that except paying the salaries of judicial officers of the above-mentioned courts, Buhari had since May 5, 2009, abandoned his responsibility of funding the capital and recurrent expenditure of the respective courts.
“Since the 5th of May 2009, the defendant had not funded the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state high courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal of the plaintiffs’ states, apart from paying only the salaries of the judicial officers of the said courts.
“The plaintiffs’ states have been solely responsible for funding the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state high courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal of the plaintiffs’ states, which the defendant has failed and/or refused to fund.”