The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has reiterated the Supreme Court’s unwavering commitment to strengthening public confidence in the administration of justice.
Kekere-Ekun gave the assurance at the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Kayode Oyewole as a justice of the supreme court on Wednesday in Abuja.
She said that although the court’s traditions are rich and its responsibilities weighty, its strength lies in disciplined scholarship, ethical fidelity, and collective wisdom.
She urged Oyewole to contribute meaningfully to the coherence of the court’s jurisprudence and the clarity of constitutional interpretation.
“Your elevation today reflects the confidence reposed in you by those institutions and, by extension, by the Nigerian people. 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.
“At this level of adjudication, scrutiny is intense and commentary often instantaneous. Your compass must remain fixed upon the constitution and the law.’’
She reminded the new apex court justice that he is called upon to decide according to law and conscience, free from fear, favour, affection, or ill-will.
“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.
“A principled dissent, expressed with intellectual honesty, is not a fracture of unity; it is often the seed of future doctrinal growth.’’
The CJN noted that with the elevation of Oyewole, the court now stands at its full constitutional complement which is no small milestone.
“A full court enhances our capacity to sit in robust panels, to manage our docket more efficiently.
“It will ensure that the business of the nation’s apex court proceeds with renewed vigour and dispatch. It enriches intellectual diversity, and reinforces the stability of our jurisprudence.
“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.’’
She reiterated that judgments of the apex court do not speak only to the parties before it; they speak to generations yet unborn.
“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.
“At this level, the judicial function transcends the resolution of disputes.
“It demands stewardship, careful guardianship of precedent, principled development of the law, and unwavering allegiance to constitutional supremacy.
“A Justice of this court must possess the courage to affirm settled doctrine where stability demands it, and the wisdom to refine it where justice and constitutional fidelity so require.’’
