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| Justice Ibrahim Mohammad |
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Mohammad has asked judicial officers to always be transparent and uphold their oath of office.
Mohammad particularly urged judges of the Federal High Court, the court with the broadest jurisdiction among High Courts in the country, to double their efforts in view of the large volume of cases pending before the court.
Represented by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu of the Court of Appeal, the CJN spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the 35th annual Judges conference of the Federal High Court.
He stressed the need for Judges to always be transparent, live above board and be guided by their oath of office in the discharge of their responsibilities.
The courtโs acting Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho restated his plan to ensure that more judges were appointed for the court.
The Federal High Court, with headquarters in Abuja and presence in all states of the federation, currently has 80 judges.
Tsoho urged his brother judges of the Federal High Court to improve on their efforts in a bid reduce the current high volume of pending cases.
This, the acting CJ said, was necessary to bridge the existing gap pending the appointment of more judges.
He commended his predecessor, Justice Adamu Kafarati for his thoughtfulness, which was reflected in his directive to judges to be introspective in granting ex-parte injunctions in pre-election cases before, during and after the last general elections.
The directive and the way judges of the court adhered to it, Tsoho noted, assisted the court from avoiding being linked with unnecessary controversies.
Tsoho, who said the conference was intended to prepare the judges for the task ahead, noted that the court has engaged experts in various fields to interface with judges and to bring them up to date in most aspects of their operations.
He added that medical experts have also been engaged counsel judges on health issues, which he noted, are of great importance to all heads of courts.
Tsoho thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for considering him worthy of being appointed the courtโs acting Chief Judge. He equally hailed the CJN for his exemplary support to the Federal High Court.
He assured the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and his colleagues about his commitment to duties and pledged not to let anyone down.
Tsoho assured that he will not be involved in anything that will make them regret their support for him.
