The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, yesterday, swore in 11 justices of the Supreme Court to fulfil the statutory 21 judges.
He charged the jurists to be morally upright and discharge their duties according to the Constitution and other extant laws.
Ariwoola reminded them that their inauguration marks a significant milestone for the judiciary, assuring a stronger legal system.
The CJN also admonished the new justices to see themselves as representatives of God on earth, noting that any judgment given by them could only be upturned in heaven.
He, therefore, advised the judges not to allow their personal ambitions or extraneous considerations to cloud their sense of judgment.
His words: “Let your conscience guide and filter every thought that traverses your mind from this moment. I have no doubt that you may have, at one time or the other, been confronted with some form of criticisms or verbal assaults by litigants, who have lost their cases.”
According to Ariwoola, the event is a memory he would cherish in his lifetime, adding that it is unprecedented in the annals of the apex court.
Going memory lane, the CJN submitted: “The inability of the court to meet up the statutory full complement of 21 justices had lingered on for too long, thus appearing to be like a jinx.
“I thereafter made a categorical pledge that before I finish my tenure as Chief Justice of Nigeria, I would, by the special grace of God, do everything within my ability to break that jinx, and get on board the well-deserved full complement of the court.
“Today (yesterday), as it were, it is apparent that all that is now history; and a very palatable one at that for the Nigerian judiciary and the country at large.”
The new arbitrators are Justices Haruna Tsammani (Northeast); Moore Adumein (South-South); Jummai Sankey (Northcentral); Chidiebere Uwa (Southeast) and Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (Southeast).
Others are Obande Ogbuinya (South-East); Stephen Adah (North-Central); Habeeb Abiru (Southwest); Jamilu Tukur (Northwest); Abubakar Umar (Northwest) and Mohammed Idris (Northcentral).
