The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola, has urged judges to always be impartial and fair in their dealings with Nigerians.
The CJN said that “impartiality is the hallmark of a judge.”
Justice Ariwoola affirmed his commitment to upholding an impartial and independent judiciary during his tenure.
“As the Chief Justice of Nigeria, I will do everything within my ability to make it remain part of my responsibility to nourish,” he assured on Monday at a session to mark the start of the 2023/2024 legal year of the Supreme Court in Nigeria.
The event coincided with the induction of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs.
Ariwoola, who was sworn in as CJN on June 27, 2022, will retire in August 2024, on attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70.
He pledged to induct 11 new Justices into the Supreme Court to bring the total number of the apex court’s bench to 21 as the law stipulates “within a very short while.”
“That is one of the legacies I have been working assiduously to leave behind as it now seems that the court has been somewhat ‘jinxed’ from meeting its constitutional requirement since that piece of legislation was enacted several years ago,” he noted.
Justice Ariwoola congratulated the newly inducted SANs, advising them to clothe themselves in humility, integrity and self-discipline.
“As Senior Advocates of Nigeria, you now carry a heavy burden on your shoulders. From the moment you leave this courtroom, everything in you and about you will now be freely scrutinised and dissected by everyone that comes in contact with you,” he said.
“There is nothing like private life for you henceforth, as whatever you hitherto regarded as private life will now be treated as public life by members of the public; and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“So, watch your utterances, watch your actions and watch the kind of company you keep, because you have already assumed the role of ministers of the court, as you are now expected to assist the court to attain justice, equity and fairness in all ramifications.”
“You must display enormous integrity, self-discipline and a high standard of advocacy as custodians of justice. The privilege you are conferred with today does not, in any way, make you superhuman because humility and self-control still remain the essential tools to engage in wrestling the foibles of life.”
Fifty-eight SANs were sworn in, out of 114 applicants.
