Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), is set to swear in nine newly appointed Justices of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The inauguration of the new appellate court justices will take place at the Main Court auditorium of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Abuja, as announced by Festus Akande, the Director of Press and Information at the Supreme Court. The ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
The nine new justices include Hannatu Azumi Laja-Balogun from Kaduna State, Binta Fatima Zubairu from Kaduna State, and Peter Chudi Obiora from Anambra State, who have extensive experience as High Court Judges.
Other appointees are Justices Okon Efreti Abang from Akwa Ibom State, Asma’u Musa Mainoma from the Federal Capital Territory, Lateef Adebayo Ganiyu from Oyo State, and Jane Esienanwan Iyang from Cross River State, all of whom have significant backgrounds in the judiciary.
Hadiza Rabiu Shagari from Sokoto State and Paul Ahmed Bassi from Borno State complete the list of newly appointed justices.
Additionally, Justice Amina Adamu Augie is set to retire from the Supreme Court’s Bench on Thursday, September 21, 2023, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 on September 3, 2023. The traditional valedictory court session in her honor, initially scheduled for September 3, was postponed due to the Court’s annual vacation, which concluded on September 15, 2023.
Justice Augie, who became a Supreme Court Justice on November 7, 2016, graduated with a Second Class Upper Division in Law from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1977 and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1978.
With Justice Augie’s retirement, the Supreme Court now operates with 11 Justices, a notable difference from the constitutionally mandated 22 Justices.
