S’Court Loses Two Justices In 40 Days, Bench Shrinks To 19 As Nigeria Mourns 9 Dead Judges

○ 6 Retire, 9 Die – National Judicial Council confirms receiving notices of happenings at Nigeria’s judiciary

○ + Updates NJC gave on blow that has despatched shockwaves via the authorized neighborhood and raised recent fears about justice delayed in Africa’s largest democracy

ABUJA — Nigeria’s highest court docket is shrinking once more, and quick.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria is ready to lose two extra justices inside an area of lower than two months, bringing the variety of serving justices on the apex court docket to 19, following the retirement of Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji on Saturday. It is a blow that has despatched shockwaves via the authorized neighborhood and raised recent fears about justice delayed in Africa’s largest democracy.

The improvement comes because the National Judicial Council confirmed receiving notices of the retirement of six judicial officers and the deaths of 9 others throughout numerous federal and state courts. The NJC disclosed this in an announcement issued by its Deputy Director of Information, Kemi Babalola-Ogedengbe, following its 112th assembly held on November 3, 2026, underneath the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.

The impending discount follows the retirement of Justice Ibrahim Saulawa on September 29, lower than two months earlier than Abba Aji’s scheduled exit on November 7. Saulawa, who joined the apex court docket in November 2020, retired after almost six years on the bench, whereas Abba Aji, elevated to the Supreme Court in January 2019, is anticipated to go away the court docket on Saturday after virtually eight years of shaping Nigerian legislation.

Their departures imply the Supreme Court will once more fall wanting its constitutionally prescribed full complement of 21 justices, having attained the milestone solely in February this 12 months following the inauguration of Justice Olubunmi Oyewole. For a court docket that decides presidential elections, governorship disputes and issues of life and dying, each empty seat is a disaster.

Apart from the 2 Supreme Court justices, the NJC acknowledged 4 different retirement notices involving judicial officers from the Court of Appeal and state judiciaries. They embrace Justice O.F. Omoleye of the Court of Appeal, who retired on October 6; Justice Ogechi Okehielem of the Abia State High Court, who voluntarily retired on September 15; Justice Theresa Isidore Obot of the Akwa Ibom State High Court, because of retire voluntarily on December 30; and Justice Munir Muhammad Ladan of the Kaduna State High Court, whose voluntary retirement takes impact on December 31.

But the retirements are solely half the tragedy. In one other improvement, the NJC disclosed that 9 judicial officers died between May 1 and September 26, 2026. The deceased judges embrace Justice Mohammed Nasir Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Kano Division; Justice Sambo Sammy Daka of the Kaduna State High Court; Justice Josephine Efunkumbi Oyefeso of the Lagos State High Court; and Justice Musa Mohammed Dallah of the Nasarawa State High Court.

Others are Justice Bello Muhammed Shinkafi of the Zamfara State High Court; Justice Edem Nyong Okokon of the Cross River State High Court; Kadi Aliyu Mani Yauri of the Kebbi State Sharia Court of Appeal; Justice Dorothy Sim Inwulale of the Kaduna State Customary Court of Appeal; and Justice Legor Torbira Senewo of the Rivers State Customary Court of Appeal. Nine black robes gone in lower than 5 months.

The council expressed appreciation to the retired and retiring judicial officers for what it described as their devoted and meritorious service to the judiciary and the nation. It additionally prolonged condolences to the households of the deceased judges, the judiciary and the Nigerian authorized neighborhood, whereas praying for the peaceable repose of their souls.

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The newest discount comes in opposition to the backdrop of years of problem in sustaining the Supreme Court’s constitutionally prescribed membership of 21 justices. For many years, the apex court docket struggled to achieve its full complement because of deaths, retirements, voluntary exits, delays within the appointment course of and what has been described as an absence of adequate dedication by the chief arm of presidency to filling vacancies.

The state of affairs grew to become notably alarming in 2023 when the variety of serving justices dropped to an unprecedented low of 10. At that time, Nigeria’s Supreme Court — the ultimate arbiter for 230 million folks — had fewer justices than a single panel in lots of international locations. Cases piled up, litigants waited for years, and confidence within the system shook.

However, the court docket made historical past on February 26, 2024, when 11 justices have been elevated to the apex court docket in a single train, bringing its membership to the constitutionally prescribed 21 for the primary time. The quantity subsequently dropped to twenty in August 2024 following the retirement of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

The court docket regained its full power on February 25, 2026, when Justice Oyewole was inaugurated, with Kekere-Ekun describing the restoration of the complete complement as a major milestone for the judiciary. The CJN had defined {that a} full bench would strengthen the court docket’s capability to sit down in sturdy panels, handle its growing caseload effectively and make sure the speedy willpower of circumstances.

She additionally pressured that having the complete complement of justices was important to enriching mental variety, strengthening the steadiness of Nigeria’s jurisprudence and making certain the efficient discharge of the apex court docket’s constitutional tasks. Now, with two seats empty once more and 9 judges mourned, the query dealing with Nigeria is brutally easy: will the chief act quick sufficient to fill the bench, or will justice as soon as once more be left ready?

NOP NIGERIA