The Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria are members of the Supreme Court of Nigeria composed of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and other justices not more than 21 including the chief justice, appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, (NJC)[1] and subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court must be qualified to practice law in Nigeria, and must have been so qualified for a period not less than fifteen years. Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria have a mandatory retirement age of 70 years.[2][3]

Recent history

In June 2019, when the court had 16 justices, the president wrote the CJN, asking him as the chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to “initiate in earnest the process of appointing additional five Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to make the full complement of Justices of the Supreme Court” as contained in the Nigerian Constitution. After the quarter of 2020, a number of justices retired, making the number of justices to 13 justices and increasing the work load on the bench. The recommendation from the National Judicial Council for the appointment of 8 new judges in 2020 after the confirmation by the Nigerian Senate increased the number to 21 Justices.[4] After the death of Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, the retirement of Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, the death of Justice Samuel Oseji, the retirement of Justice Mary Odili, the retirement of Justice Ejembi Eko, the retirement of Justice Abdu Aboki and the resignation of Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, it became a total number of 13 Justices in the Supreme Court of Nigeria including the Chief Justice of Nigeria. The death of Justice Chima Nweze in July 2023 and the retirement of Justice Amina Augie and Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad in September and October 2023 respectively, further reduced the number of Justices to 10.

On 21 December 2023, the Nigerian Senate confirmed the appointment of 11 more Supreme Court justices, bringing the number of justices in the Supreme Court to the maximum constitutional requirement of 21 for the first time since 2020.[5][6]

Current Justices Of the Supreme Court

Office Name Term
Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola 2011–present
Associate Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun2013–present
Associate Justice John Inyang Okoro2013–present
Associate justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji2018–present
Associate Justice M. Lawal Garba2020–present
Associate Justice Helen M. Ogunwumiju2020–present
Associate Justice I. N. M. Saulawa2020–present
Associate Justice Adamu Jauro2020–present
Associate Justice Tijjani Abubakar2020–present
Associate Justice Emmanuel A. Agim2020–present
Associate Justice Haruna Tsammani2023–present
Associate Justice Moore Adumein2023–present
Associate Justice Jummai Sankey2023–present
Associate Justice Chidiebere Uwa2023–present
Associate Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme2023–present
Associate Justice Obande Ogbuinya2023–present
Associate Justice Stephen Adah2023–present
Associate Justice Habeeb Abiru2023–present
Associate Justice Jamilu Tukur2023–present
Associate Justice Abubakar Umar2023–present
Associate Justice Mohammed Idris2023–present

References

  1. ↑ NJC Procedural Rules on appointments of judicial officers - National Judicial Council, 1999-05-29, retrieved 2020-07-27
  2. ↑ "Recruitment and Tenure of Supreme Court Justices in Nigeria".
  3. ↑ "Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria". www.nigeria-law.org.
  4. ↑ "Nigeria Senate Confirms 8 Justices of the Supreme Court - The Guardian News Nigeria". 2020-10-13.
  5. ↑ Omogbolagun, Tope (22 December 2023). "Senate confirms 11 S'Court justices, urges more funding". The Punch. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Ogunseyin, Oluyemi (21 December 2023). "Senate confirms appointment of 11 Supreme Court judges". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2023.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.