For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court will soon have the full complement of 21 justices, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, promised yesterday.
He expressed his determination to break the jinx as one of his legacies.
The number of Supreme Court Justices dropped to 10 from 13 with the retirement of Justice Amina Augie, the death of Justice Chima Nweze, and the retirement of Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad.
Last two weeks, the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) nominated 11 justices and 11 reserves from the Court of Appeal for elevation to the Supreme Court, subject National Judicial Council (NJC) and Senate clearance.
Justice Ariwoola, who spoke in Abuja at a special court session to mark the Supreme Court’s 2023/2024 legal year and the swearing-in of 58 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), said he had been working to fill the vacancies.
He and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), called for a reduction in the number of cases that get to the Supreme Court to reduce the workload.
Chief Justice Ariwoola said the apex court delivered 251 judgments during the 2022/2023 legal year, noting that Nigerians are too litigious.
He said: “I have made it clear on different occasions that it is not every dispute that must find its way to the court; it is not every matter that must come up to the Supreme Court on appeal.
“Our laws have to be amended to make most appeals end at the Court of Appeal, which is competent, dexterous and well-equipped with the right materials and manpower to adjudicate effectively and resourcefully.”
On the need to appoint more justices, the CJN said: “Efforts were made by my predecessor to increase the number, but that was unsuccessful before he left office.
“However, the cheery news is that as soon as I assumed office on the 27th of June, 2022, I immediately got down to work on this urgent and immediate need in particular.
“Though we have not gotten them on board yet, I can convincingly assure the public that within a very short while, the Supreme Court of Nigeria will, for the very first time in its history, get the constitutionally prescribed full complement of 21 Justices.
“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.”
Chief Justice Ariwoola, while acknowledging the need for public trust in the Judiciary, urged judges to be guided by law rather than the “loud voices of the mob” in reaching decisions.
He added: “The Judiciary, as it is today, is more deserving of public trust and confidence than ever before.
“We are poised to reposition it for effective justice delivery to make our beloved country a destination of note in the observance of the rule of law and tenets of constitutionalism.
“The law remains the law, no matter whose interest is involved. In all we do, as interpreters of the law, we should endeavour to sever the strings of emotion from logic and assumption from fact.
“We should never be overwhelmed by the actions or loud voices of the mob or crowd and now begin to confuse law with sentiment or something else in deciding our cases
“Judges owe the society a great duty of always deciding cases without fear or favour, affection or ill will, friend or foe.
“I wish to honestly assure all judicial officers that if you are discharging your functions as an upright judicial officer by genuinely following the norms, then you have no cause to be afraid or feel intimidated by the often frivolous complaints or vitriolic attacks made by persons having vested interest.”
Stressing the importance of judicial independence in a democracy, he added: “We actually expected the independence of the judiciary to be given adequate statutory protection, not just at the Federal level alone but equally at the state level so that they could be seen to be truly and genuinely independent in all ramifications.
