Forty years into his legal career and 30 years on the bench, the 17th Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on Thursday took a bow as he retired after attaining the 70-year mandatory age. He was appointed a judge in 1992, and three years later (2005), he was elevated to the Court of
Forty years into his legal career and 30 years on the bench, the 17th Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on Thursday took a bow as he retired after attaining the 70-year mandatory age.
He was appointed a judge in 1992, and three years later (2005), he was elevated to the Court of Appeal where he served until 22 November 2011 when he joined the Supreme Court of Nigeria as one of the justices.
At a valedictory session in his honour at the Supreme Court in Abuja, the retired head of the nation’s judiciary advocated the need for measures to be put in place to reduce the burden on the Supreme Court.
According to him, there are too many cases before the apex court, which ought to have been terminated at the appellate court. He said access to justice has contributed largely to the delay in the hearing of cases as litigants and lawyers are forced to wait for several years to have their cases decided.
Justice Ariwoola explained that the right to a fair hearing can only be guaranteed when lawyers and litigants do not have to wait for so long to have their cases heard.
He, however, stressed the need for the bench to have more judicial officers to adjudicate on all matters timeously.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Justice Ariwoola as acting CJN in June 2022 following the sudden resignation of Justice Tanko Muhammad on health grounds. Justice Ariwoola was subsequently sworn in, in October 2022 following his confirmation by the Senate.
He studied law at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile Ife and bagged his Bachelor of Laws degree with honours in July 1980. In July 1981, Justice Ariwoola was called to the Bar and enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Solicitor.
On 14 July 2020, Justice Ariwoola was part of the seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by now-retired Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, which gave judicial backing to the virtual court hearing.
He was also on the seven-judge bench led by his predecessor, Justice Tanko Muhammad, that affirmed President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the 2019 general elections.
The panel, in its decision delivered on 30 October 2019, dismissed the suit of the then and now presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, challenging former President Buhari’s victory in the 23 February 2019 presidential election.
He was also part of the Justice Muhammad-led seven-man panel that delivered the controversial judgement of the Supreme Court that sacked Chief Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as Imo State governor and replaced him with Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on January 14, 2020.
The same panel of which Justice Ariwoola was a member, delivered the Supreme Court’s judgement on 20 January 2020 affirming the victories of Governors Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State in the 2019 governorship elections.
Also, on 3 March 2020, Justice Ariwoola delivered the lead majority decision of six of the seven justices on the court’s panel, that dismissed Chief Ihedioha’s request for a review of the earlier verdict.
