OUR RULINGS SPEAKS TO GENERATIONS UNBORN, CJN TELLS SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
Read Time:2 Minute, 23 Second
HOTJIST NEWS
Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the chief justice of Nigeria, said that the decisions made by the supreme court affect more than just the people involved in a case. These decisions help shape the future of Nigeria’s constitution and laws.
On Wednesday, during the swearing–in of Kayode Oyewole as a new justice of the supreme court in Abuja, Kekere-Ekun explained that the court‘s rulings have a lasting impact.
She said these decisions speak to future generations and will influence how the law is understood and applied in Nigeria for a long time.
“The judgments of this court do not speak only to the parties before it; they speak to generations yet unborn,” the CJN said.
“The authority of this court rests not on force, but on the moral weight of its reasoning, the discipline of its processes and the integrity of men and women privileged to serve on its bench.”
She said that at the level of the supreme court, adjudication transcends the resolution of disputes and requires stewardship of precedent, principled development of the law, and fidelity to constitutional supremacy.
“At this level, the judicial function transcends the resolution of disputes,” she said.
“It demands stewardship, careful guardianship of precedent, principled development of the law, and unwavering allegiance to constitutional supremacy.”
Kekere-Ekun urged Oyewole to approach his new role with moral courage, intellectual discipline, and independence, noting that scrutiny of the apex court is often intense and immediate.
“Your elevation today reflects the confidence reposed in you by those institutions and, by extension, by the Nigerian people,” she said.
“The oaths your lordship has taken represent a covenant, binding in conscience and in law. It demands moral courage when decisions are unpopular, restraint when passions run high, and steadfastness when pressures, subtle or overt, seek to intrude upon judicial independence.”
The CJN said justices of the apex court must remain guided by the constitution and the law, free from fear or favour, and must not hesitate to express principled dissent where necessary.
“Where your lordship’s considered conviction differs from that of your brother justices, Your lordship must have the courage to dissent with courtesy and precision,” she said.
“A principled dissent, expressed with intellectual honesty, is not a fracture of unity; it is often the seed of future doctrinal growth.”
Kekere-Ekun also noted that with Oyewole’s elevation, the supreme court now has its full constitutional complement, describing the development as “structurally significant” to the effective discharge of its mandate.
“A full court enhances our capacity to sit in robust panels, to manage our docket more efficiently,” she said.
“For a court whose pronouncements shape the legal destiny of the nation, numerical completeness is structurally significant to the effective discharge of our constitutional mandate.”
Oyewole was subsequently sworn in as a justice of the apex court.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0