The Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Nigeria’s Chief Justice, will administer the oath of office to nine new Justices of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, September 20.
The new Appellate Court Justices will be sworn in during a ceremony at the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s Main Court auditorium.
The new Justices of the Court of Appeal will take their oath of office from the CJN at 11:00 am on Monday, according to a statement released by Supreme Court Director of Press and Information Dr. Festus Akande on Sunday.
Kaduna State’s Hannatu Azumi Laja-Balogun, appointed to the High Court on May 24, 1999; Kaduna State’s Binta Fatima Zubairu, appointed to the High Court on October 31, 2001; and Anambra State’s Peter Chudi Obiora, sworn in as a High Court Judge on January 17, 2005; are the newest members of the Court of Appeal.
In addition to 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 were sworn in as High Court Judges on the 12th of February 2015, are also listed.
Paul Ahmed Bassi of Borno State was appointed to the High Court on July 14, 2017, and Hadiza Rabiu Shagari of Sokoto State was promoted to the High Court Bench on February 12, 2015.
After reaching the obligatory retirement age of 70 on Sunday, September 3, 2023, Justice Amina Adamu Augie will formally retire from the Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
Her customary farewell court hearing, scheduled for September 3, was postponed until after the Court’s annual holiday ended on Friday, September 15, 2023.
Supreme Court Justice Amina Augie took the oath of office on November 7, 2016. She attended University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and earned a Second Class Upper Division degree in Law before being admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1978.
The departure of Justice Augie leaves the Supreme Court with 11 justices, rather than the 22 required by the Constitution.
Chief Justice of Nigeria Olukayode Ariwoola is joined by Justices Musa Dattijo, Kudirat Motomori Kekere-Ekun, John Inyang Okoro, Uwani Abba Aji, Garba Lawal, and Helen Morenikeji Ogunwumiju on the Supreme Court bench.
To round out the group, we have Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijjani Abubakar, and Emmanuela Akomaye Agim.
On July 14, 2023, it was announced that Supreme Court Justice Centus Chima Nweze had passed away.
