9 Appeal Court Justices appointed (full list)

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola will on Wednesday, September 20, administer the oath of office to nine newly appointed Justices of the Court of Appeal. This inauguration of the new Appellate Court Justices will take place at the Main Court auditorium of the Supreme Court of Nigeria at 11:00 am. The announcement was made in a statement released on Sunday by Dr. Festus Akande, the Director of Press and Information at the Supreme Court.

The newly appointed appellate court Justices include Hannatu Azumi Laja-Balogun from Kaduna State, who initially became a High Court Judge on May 24, 1999; Binta Fatima Zubairu from Kaduna State, appointed as a High Court Judge on October 31, 2001; and Peter Chudi Obiora from Anambra State, who took the oath as a High Court Judge on January 17, 2005.

The other Justices to be inaugurated are Okon Efreti Abang from Akwa Ibom State, who was appointed as a High Court Judge on June 22, 2009; Asma’u Musa Mainoma from the Federal Capital Territory, appointed as a High Court Judge on February 1, 2013; Lateef Adebayo Ganiyu from Oyo State, who became a High Court Judge on June 26, 2014; and Jane Esienanwan Iyang from Cross River State, who was sworn in as a High Court Judge on February 12, 2015.

Additionally, there are Hadiza Rabiu Shagari from Sokoto State, who was elevated to the High Court Bench on February 12, 2015, and Paul Ahmed Bassi from Borno State, appointed to the High Court on July 14, 2017.

In a separate development, Justice Amina Adamu Augie is set to retire from the Supreme Court’s Bench on Thursday, September 21, 2023, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Sunday, September 3, 2023. The traditional valedictory court session in her honor, originally scheduled for September 3, was postponed due to the annual vacation of the Court, which concluded on September 15, 2023.

Justice Amina Augie was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court on November 7, 2016. She graduated with a Second Class Upper Division in Law from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1977 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1978. With her retirement, the Supreme Court will now have 11 Justices instead of the constitutionally stipulated 22.

The remaining Justices on the Supreme Court bench include Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola, Musa Dattijo, Kudirat Motomori Kekere-Ekun, John Inyang Okoro, Uwani Abba Aji, Garba Lawal, Helen Morenikeji Ogunwumiju, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijjani Abubakar, and Emmanuela Akomaye Agim. It is worth noting that Justice Centus Chima Nweze of the Supreme Court passed away on July 14, 2023.