CJN swears-in Inyang as Justice of Supreme Court

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, Friday, swore in Justice John Inyang Okoro as a Justice of the Supreme Court.

Inyang who hails from Akwa Ibom State increased the number of justices on the apex court bench to eighteen.

Performing the swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Court yesterday, the CJN, urged Justice Okoro to ensure that he remained above board, saying, 'As I felicitate with you, let me point out that you have a very heavy responsibility on your shoulders.'

'The public perception of the judiciary as we are well aware is central to its existence especially in a democratic society as Nigeria. It follows therefore that the judiciary is a democratic society cannot remain aloof of the realities of the operating environment even if only for the pragmatic necessity to maintain its relevance in the society.

'It has a critical role in mediating conflicts and upholding human rights through a robust interpretation of law. This is particularly so in societies like Nigeria, where the judiciary has been previously implicated in validating authoritarian rule and thus undermining the rule of law.