The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, yesterday, saying that public sentiments and emotions cannot replace the law amid controversies trailing judgments of various courts handling election disputes.
He charged judges saying, the law remains the law, no matter whose interest is involved.
He also encouraged them saying, as interpreters of the law, they should endeavour to sever the strings of emotion from logic and assumption from fact.
The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party and civil society organisations, however, flayed the CJN for his comments, saying Nigerians were losing confidence in the judiciary, considering the activities of judges in recent election matters in Kano, Zamfara and Nasarawa states.
But the CJN called for total emancipation of the judiciary from external influences, saying to guarantee the integrity of the judiciary, it must be “truly and genuinely independent in all ramifications.”
He bemoaned the fact that the judiciary had over the years struggled for fiscal autonomy, which he said would “ultimately embolden us to act without fear of intimidation or harassment from other arms of government.”
Justice Ariwoola, who lamented that rule of law in Nigeria had been questionable since 1999, however, scored the third arm of government highly in 2023.
The CJN spoke at a special session the Supreme Court held to mark the commencement of its 2023/2024 Legal Year and swearing-in of 58 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs.
He assured that despite the challenges and criticisms, the Judiciary will continue to discharge its statutory obligations without succumbing to sentimental “voices of the mob.”