CJN To Inaugurate Nine Appeal Court Justices On September 20

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola,  is scheduled to conduct the swearing-in ceremony for nine newly appointed Justices of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, September 20th.

In addition, there are several other appointed Justices: Justice Okon Efreti Abang, originally from Akwa Ibom State, assumed the role of High Court Judge on June 22, 2009. Justice Asma’u Musa Mainoma, representing the Federal Capital Territory, was appointed as a High Court Judge on February 1, 2013. Justice Lateef Adebayo Ganiyu, hailing from Oyo State, took on the position of High Court Judge on June 26, 2014. Finally, Justice Jane Esienanwan Iyang, who hails from Cross River State, was formally sworn in as a High Court Judge on February 12, 2015.

The remaining members include Hadiza Rabiu Shagari from Sokoto State, who was promoted to the High Court Bench on February 12, 2015, and Paul Ahmed Bassi from Borno State, who was appointed to the High Court on July 14, 2017.

In the meantime, Justice Amina Adamu Augie is scheduled to formally retire from the Supreme Court’s Bench on Thursday, September 21, 2023, as she has reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 years on Sunday, September 3, 2023.

The traditional valedictory court session in her honour, originally planned for September 3, was postponed due to the annual vacation of the Court. This vacation period concluded on Friday, September 15, 2023, as mentioned in the statement.

Justice Augie was sworn in as Justice of the Supreme Court on 7th November 2016. She graduated with a Second Class Upper Division in Law from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1977 and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1978.

With Justice Augie’s retirement, the Supreme Court is currently composed of 11 Justices, which is half of the constitutionally stipulated number of 22 Justices.