CJN to judges: Your decisions must be rooted in law, not public opinion

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has charged the newly inaugurated judges of the elections petitions tribunals to base their decisions on law and not public opinions.

The CJN spoke during the inauguration of the 39 additional members of the 2023 elections petitions tribunal at the Supreme Court complex in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the participation of the panel members at the petitions which arose from the February 25 and March 18 general elections is not by accident but by a design of God.

He said, “You have just taken an oath that has not only imposed a course of upright moral undertaking on you but equally looped you with destiny.

“By the virtue of this oath, you are now armed with the power to adjudicate on electoral disputes and take decisions in accordance with your convictions, which must be deeply rooted in law and not sentiments or public opinion.

“As judicial officers, you may have, one way or the other, trodden this somewhat dreaded terrain, but you must, against all odds, rise above the murky waters of failure and infamy.

“The onus is on you to keep aloft the banner of honesty and integrity that the judiciary has painstakingly hoisted over the years.

“Your appointment to serve in these tribunals is well conceived, thus, you should do everything within your ability to justify this.”