THE Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, has implored Nigerians to allow the judicial arm of government to perform without pressure in the coming 2023 elections. He speech which was to all Nigerians was majorly directed to politicians. He said this after his swearing-in ceremony at the presidential Villa at Abuja.
Present at the ceremony were; Yemi Osibanjo, the Vice President of Nigeria, Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo state, Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state and members of the judicial council. Justice Olukayode made his cry to Nigerians and also informed the public that reformative measures are already in place to make the delivery of justice better.
He said: “I give all the glory to God and I believe the Lord that has taken me this far will continue to support me to do the best for Nigerians and as I said on the 27th of June, when I was sworn-in in acting capacity, I shall not let Nigerians down, with the support of my brother justices. ”As you can see, all of them are here with me, as they were when I was sworn-in in acting capacity. With their support, we shall not fail Nigerians.
“We shall make progress and advance the judiciary of Nigeria to benefit, not only the common man, but also all men and women.” We are computerizing the Supreme Court already, and all other courts of records, so that the delay in filing cases will become a thing of the past.
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”We’re creating e-filing, we are creating an e-diary so that lawyers can stay in the comfort of their chambers and contact the court, address the court by zoom. Computerization is already taking place, not only in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal but also other courts of record in Nigeria.
“Politicians should allow the judiciary to function. Law is not static and that’s why you have seen that the National Assembly continues to amend the laws and it is the laws that the courts apply to the facts available. We shall continue to do justice, if only Nigerians will allow us to perform and function without any pressure.”
The governor of Oyo State also declared his gratitude in the fact that the newly appointed CJN was an indigene of Oyo state. He said: “We are really happy. One of our own is now the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the good people of Oyo State are thankful to Mr. President for seeing the process through; from Justice Ariwoola being appointed as the acting CJN, his confirmation at the Senate, and now his being sworn-in as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria.”
“Well, you know it’s been quite a while since this type of opportunity knocked on our door. So, we count ourselves quite lucky and we look forward to supporting him to contribute to the development of the judiciary in Nigeria.”
He said: “I’ve been busy at home, in Oyo State, campaigning for everybody. Uyo is not where I need to pull the votes together, it’s in Oyo. So I stayed in Oyo.”
