The Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria are members of The Supreme Court Of Nigeria composed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria other Justices of the Supreme Court not more than 21 including the chief justice, appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, (NJC) and subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.
Justices of the Supreme Court are required to be licensed to practice law in Nigeria and to have done so for a minimum of fifteen years. The obligatory retirement age for Supreme Court of Nigeria justices is 70 years old.
In a letter to the CJN dated June 2019, the president requested that he, as the head of the National Judicial Council (NJC), “initiate in earnest the process of appointing additional five Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to make the full complement of Justices of the Supreme Court” as specified in the Nigerian Constitution. At the time, the court was comprised of 16 justices.
A number of justices retired after the first quarter of 2020, bringing the total to 13 and adding to the workload on the bench. After the confirmation by the Nigerian Senate, the National Judicial Council recommended the appointment of 8 new judges in 2020, bringing the total to 21 Justices.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria now has 13 justices, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, following the deaths of Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Justice Samuel Oseji, Justice Mary Odili, Justice Ejembi Eko, and Justice Abdu Aboki, as well as the retirements of those justices and the resignation of Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad.
Current Justices Of the Supreme Court
- Olukayode Ariwoola
- Musa Datijo Muhammad
- Kudirat Kekere-Ekun
- Chima Centus Nweze
- Amina Augie
- Uwani Musa Abba Aji
- John Inyang Okoro
- Lawal Garba
- Helen M. Ogunwumiju
- I.N. M. Saulawa
- Adamu Jauro
- Tijjani Abubakar
- Emmanuel A. Agim
