Full Court Enriches Intellectual Diversity, Reinforces Stability of Jurisprudence, Says Kekere-Ekun

• As Justice Joseph Oyewole joins apex court bench

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has described Wednesday’s elevation of Justice Joseph Oyewole to the bench of the Supreme Court, as a significant milestone in the nation’s judiciary.

According to the CJN, the appointment and subsequent swearing-in of Justice Oyewole has once again enabled the apex court to attain its full complement of 21 justices, as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The first time the Supreme Court attained such feat was in February 2024, when 11 justices recommended to President Bola Tinubu for appointment were sworn in as Justice(s) of the Supreme Court (JSC).

However, few months later the figure dropped to 20 when the then CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola bowed out of office in August 2024.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, at the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Oyewole, the CJN observed that judgments of the apex court would be more robust, efficient and enriching.

“With the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath just administered, Your Lordship assumes not merely a new office, but a solemn and enduring trust at the highest level of our judicial hierarchy.

“By this act, My Lord, you join the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the final interpreter of the Constitution and the ultimate guardian of legal rights within our Republic.

“This occasion carries an added institutional importance. With Your Lordship’s elevation, this Court now stands at its full constitutional complement.

“This is no small milestone. A full Court enhances our capacity to sit in robust panels, to manage our docket more efficiently, and to 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 said.

The CJN however warned that appointment to the apex court is not simply the culmination of professional distinction; but the acceptance of a sacred national responsibility because, its pronouncements settle controversies, shape the development of the country’s jurisprudence, and define the contours of constitutional governance.

Kekere-Ekun stressed that, “Its judgments do not speak only to the parties before it; they speak to generations yet unborn”, adding that the authority of the apex 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.

While reminding Oyewole that his elevation is a testament to years of disciplined scholarship, fidelity to the law, and distinguished service on the bench, the CJN warned that at the apex court, the judicial function does not only transcend the resolution of disputes but 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”, she said.

“Your Lordship 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 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 added.