CJN Tasks Judicial Officers On Accountability, Transparency

In a bid to sustain the third arm of Government, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola has tasked judicial officers on transparency, accountability and proper adjudication to sustain the justice sector of the economy.

He made the call at the oath taking ceremony of the newly appointed 22 judges of the Appeal court and 12 Judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

The CJN said it is required of all Judicial Officers to align their conscience with the reality of their new status as their lifestyle and acquaintances have to be instantaneously reviewed and reordered to align with the current reality of their new status.

He added that “the society you operate in will certainly demand the impossible as Judges”, urging them to be ready to see and hear more strange things in the course of their adjudication.

The CJN told the newly sworn in Judges to get ready for the many troubles, discomfort, verbal assaults and uncomplimentary remarks that will be made about them by various litigants in the course of their adjudication.

Ariwoola also stressed that the National Judicial Council, NJC will never rest on its oars in fishing out the bad eggs within the judiciary and consigning them to odium within the ambit of the law.

He said, “You can only run but certainly won’t have the capacity to hide from the long arm of our disciplinary apparatus. Your Lordships should see the oath You have just taken as engraved on the template of your hearts and be rightly applied in all your adjudications. ”

“This is a bond that you should collectively etch in your hearts and allow to serve as a virile moral compass while adjudicating in all matters that come before you. Your Lordships must not derail from the revered path of impartiality, fairness, justice, and equity. ”

“We don’t need any fortuneteller to tell us that the times we are in are quite perilous and ominous, too. So, we seriously need judicial officers with the right character content that are equally calculative, honest, objective, dispassionate, and immensely humble, to take us to the highest pedestal of image and reputation rating”.

“Your appointments to the bench at this crucial and challenging time of our national history are not by accident but by the divine will of the Almighty God.”

“You should be led by wisdom and guided by your conscience on this solemn voyage of self-actualization.
I congratulate Your Lordships for being counted first among your equals. I wish you the best of luck and sincerely hope that you will emerge as shining examples among your colleagues, “the CJN added.

Garry Ochigbo, Edited By Grace Namiji