Wale Jagun
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on Monday, swore in the newly appointed 11 Justices of the Supreme Court, bringing the number of the Supreme Court justices to 21 justices
Ariwoola charged the new justices to allow their conscience to guide their conducts and discharge their duties in accordance with the Constitution.
Ikorodu – born Hon. Justice Habeeb Adewale O. Abiru is among the new Justices of the Supreme Court.
Other Justices are Jummai Hannatu Sankey, Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme, Haruna Simon Tsammani, Moore Aseimo A. Adumein, Obande Festus Ogbuinya, Stephen Jonah Adah, Jamilu Yammama Tukur, Abubakar Sadiq Umar, and Mohammed Baba Idris.
“There is no way you can please human beings, especially litigants. The easiest way to fail in life is by trying to please everyone. The only deity you can fear, is the Almighty God. Once your judgement is in consonance with what God expects from you, and is also in accordance with the Constitution, you should consider yourself the happiest and freest person on earth,” Ariwoola said.
Ariwoola who recalled his submission last year, where-in he lamented that the inability of the Court to meet up the statutory full complement of 21 Justices, described the administration of oath of office to the 11 new Justices as unprecedented in the annals of the Nigerian Supreme Court.
The CJN told the new Justices that they are coming to join the Supreme Court Bench at a time when the rank had been grossly depleted to an all-time low of ten Justices for a number of reasons, mainly retirement and deaths.
He urged them to put in their best as seasoned judicial officers transiting from the Court of Appeal and had established remarkable acquitances with judicial oath and roles guiding the conduct of judicial officers.
The CJN told the new Justices that, their elevation to the Supreme Court Bench is in recognition of their astuteness and evident passion for hard work, which is the hallmark of judicial excellence.
“Your moral uprightness, integrity and respect for the constitution and other extant laws in operation, must be unwavering and unassailable”, he said and urged the new Justices to see themselves as the representatives of God on earth, because “any judgement given at this level can only be upturned in heaven”.
