Corruption: No Judicial Officer Will Be Allowed To Drag Judiciary To The Mud – CJN Ariwoola Warns

BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola on Monday warmed that no judicial officer at any level of the Courts in the country would be allowed to drag the reputation of the Nigerian Judiciary into the mud.

The CJN stressed that the nation’s judiciary had come too far to fail thus, urged the judicial officers to heed of his admonition by working rightly towards occupying an enviable space in the annals of the Nigerian Judiciary.

Justice Ariwoola, who gave the warnings while inaugurating six newly appointed Judges of the National Industrial Court at the Supreme Court Complex, further warned judicial officers in the country against accepting juicy and irresistible gifts from corrupt politicians and businessmen in order not to bring shame and disgrace to their families when caught.

The six new Judges that were administered oath of office included; Justices Subilim Emmanuel Danjuma, Mohammad Adamu Hamza, Damachi-Onugba Joyce Agede, Hassan Mohammed Yakubu, Buhari Sami and Sanda Audu Yelwa.

The CJN said that many high profile cases would definitely come before the Judges in the course of discharging their duties in company of irresistible gifts especially when they involve mouth-watery and financially aided business transactions.

Ariwoola said that he was making it clear to the judicial officers to flee from such disguised danger, saying that it takes nothing absolutely to join the crowd but quite a lot to stand alone with good conscience.

In his words; “You must, against all odds, conduct your affairs within the ambit of the law and the oath that has just been administered on you.

“If you were hitherto 50 percent under public scrutiny, I can confidently tell you now that it has automatically risen to 100 percent by virtue of this your appointment. As Judicial officers, you have a divine mandate on earth that you must discharge with unveiled honesty and sincerity.

“You must give good account of yourselves to justify your appointment. However, if you decide to do the contrary, the sledge hammer will, without hesitation, descend heavily on you,” the CJN warned.

Ariwoola therefore charged the Judges to redouble their efforts and dialogue with their conscience in order not to fall out of grace of God and the Nigerian people.

He particularly charged the new Judges to fasten their belts and roll up their sleeves to face the challenges head-on, adding that they must double their pace to catch up with the expectations of litigants.