29/06/2022
For the first time in the country’s history, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), yesterday, voluntarily resigned from office, citing health grounds.
The resignation of Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad paved way for the next most senior jurist in the apex court, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola to be sworn in as the acting CJN.
Speaking shortly after his swearing-in by President Muhammadu Buhari, Ariwoola assured that he would not fail Nigerians in his new assignment and would work to justify the confidence reposed in him.
“What Nigerians expect from me is to comply, preserve, abide and protect the Constitution of Nigeria. And so be it. That is what I will do, especially with the cooperation of my brother Justices of the Supreme Court. We shall not fail Nigerians,” he pledged.
Justice Muhammad was facing allegations of fund mismanagement by his brother Justices. A leaked memo, written to him by 14 justices of the court, led by Ariwoola himself, complained of poor welfare and lack of transparency in the management of the court’s resources.
On how he intends to handle the controversy in the Supreme Court, Ariwoola said: “There is no controversy in the Supreme Court. We are one with the Chief Justice (Muhammad). That’s why you heard the President said His Lordship is disengaging on the grounds of ill-health.”
On the welfare issues raised in the letter addressed to the former CJN, he said: “It was an internal memo of the court. It was not a petition. It was not a letter. It was addressed by the brother justices of the Chief Justice and presented to him, His Lordship directly. There were issues to be resolved amongst justices.”
Asked if those issues would be resolved under his leadership, he said: “Yeah, we’ve started resolving it.”
Ariwoola is the third jurist to occupy the top Judiciary job in the country in the life of Buhari’s administration.
Justice Walter Onnoghen also became the CJN under this administration before he was forced to resign from office in 2019.
Click the link on our bio for more and follow us for breaking news, videos, photos, and much more.