The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kayode Ariwoola, has sworn in nine Justices of the Court of Appeal.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday in Abuja, Ariwoola asked the new judges to conduct themselves well, stating that the level of public scrutiny of their behaviour would be high.
He said: “Congratulations once again, The level of public scrutiny of your conduct will, henceforth, assume astronomical dimension because you have willingly taken up an appointment that will strategically place you perennially in the eye of the storm.
“The tempo and rate of public assessment of your conduct and disposition have also instantaneously assumed an unprecedented spike from this moment.
“You must redouble your effort and dialogue properly with your conscience in order not to fall out of the grace of the Almighty God and the Nigerian people who are curiously looking up to you.
“It takes nothing to join the crowd but it takes a lot to stand alone with good conscience.”
Ariwoola said the ceremony was an indication of the times that we are currently in as several novel crimes are being committed in the country that have now made litigations to go on a steady rise.
He said: “Political cases, especially, are taking a monumental toll on our dockets, indeed, the times we are in are not pleasant, to say the least.
“No court in the land is spared of this. We are constantly on our toes and the dockets are ever rising in response to the challenges of the time.
“This underscores the undisputed fact that Nigeria continuously ranks among the most litigious countries in the world.
“I strongly believe it is high time we began to imbibe the culture of less litigation and more of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms: so that our courts can be freed of unnecessary burden and depletion of both human and material resources.”
