The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, will administer the oath of office to the newly appointed nine Justices of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, September 20.
The new Appellate Court Justices will be installed at the Supreme Court of Nigeria Main Court auditorium.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Supreme Court’s Director of Press and Information, Dr Festus Akande, the CJN will administer the oath of office to the new Court of Appeal Justices at 11:00 a.m.
Hannatu Azumi Laja-Balogun of Kaduna State was appointed a High Court Judge on May 24, 1999; Binta Fatima Zubairu of Kaduna State was appointed a High Court Judge on October 31, 2001; and Peter Chudi Obiora of Anambra State was sworn in as High Court Judge on January 17, 2005.
Justices Okon Efreti Abang of Akwa Ibom State, appointed High Court Judge on 22nd June, 2009; Asma’u Musa Mainoma of the Federal Capital Territory, appointed High Court Judge on 1st February, 2013; Lateef Adebayo Ganiyu of Oyo State, appointed High Court Judge on 26th June, 2014; and Jane Esienanwan Iyang of Cross River State, appointed High Court Judge on 12th February, 2015.
Hadiza Rabiu Shagari of Sokoto State was appointed to the High Court Bench on February 12, 2015, while Paul Ahmed Bassi of Borno State was appointed on July 14, 2017.
Meanwhile, Justice Amina Adamu Augie will formally retire from the Supreme Court Bench on Thursday, September 21, 2023, after reaching the required retirement age of 70 on Sunday, September 3, 2023.
The regular valedictory court session in her honor, which was scheduled for September 3, was postponed due to the Court’s annual vacation, which finished on Friday, September 15, 2023.
On November 7, 2016, Justice Amina Augie was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice. She graduated from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) with a Second Class Upper Division in Law in 1977 and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1978.
With Justice Augie’s retirement, the Supreme Court now has 11 justices instead of the Constitutionally mandated 22.
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, Musa Dattijo, Kudirat Motomori Kekere-Ekun, John Inyang Okoro, Uwani Abba Aji, Garba Lawal, and Helen Morenikeji Ogunwumiju are the remaining Justices on the Apex Court bench.
Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijjani Abubakar, and Emmanuela Akomaye Agim round out the list.
It should be noted that Supreme Court Justice Centus Chima Nweze died on July 14, 2023.