The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, on Monday, cautioned judges appointed to resolve disputes from next year’s general elections, to shun corrupt practices.
A total of 307 judges will be serving on Election Petitions Tribunals set up to adjudicate disputes that may arise from the 2023 elections.
Mr. Ariwoola spoke at the inauguration of members of the 2023 Election Petitions Tribunals at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja.
He said the task of adjudicating electoral disputes from the forthcoming 2023 polls “is not an undertaking to be handled with levity.”
He admonished the judges to “discharge these onerous responsibilities with honesty, integrity, and transparency,” adding, “do what is right in our law books and you will have your names etched in gold.”
The CJN advised the judges to conduct their responsibilities “within the ambit of the law and the oath that has just been administered on you.”
“As the Chief Justice of Nigeria, I will not condone any act of recklessness, abuse of power, and public trust,” Mr. Ariwoola warned the 307 judicial officers who will be handling post-election cases.
Earlier in a welcome address, the President of the Court of Appeal, Monica Dongban-Mensem, whose court coordinates and serves as the secretariat for election petitions tribunal across the country, acknowledged that Nigeria’s judiciary was going through trying times.