Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), has reaffirmed that the judiciary will not allow the opinions of the “mob” to influence its rulings.
Following the election-related verdicts that resulted in the dismissal of several governors and parliamentarians, many Nigerians have taken aim at the court. They claimed that there was bias in the judiciary.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 2023–2024 special session of the legal calendar and the induction of 58 recently appointed Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Ariwoola urged judges to maintain their resolve.
“Every judicial officer should work really hard, be incredibly honest and polite to litigants, witnesses, and other members of the bar, and carry out all of their judicial duties with the utmost humility possible.
While doing this, it is nevertheless important to keep in mind that the law will always prevail over popular opinion, sentiment, or emotion when determining the cases that are presented to you.
Regardless of the parties involved, the law remains the law. As legal translators, we should always strive to distinguish between assumption and reality and emotion and logic in all that we do. When making decisions in our cases, we should never allow ourselves to be intimidated by the acts or boisterous voices of the mob or throng and start to mistake the law for sentiment or another factor.
However, making senseless or unjustified remarks is likely to make the Judge look bad, thus it is best to ask the right questions and refrain from asking the wrong questions.