Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria

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)[1] and subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court must be qualified to practice law in Nigeria, and must have been so qualified for a period not less than fifteen years. Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria have a mandatory retirement age of 70 years.[2][3] In June 2019, when the court had 16 justices, the president wrote the CJN, asking him as the chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to “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 contained in the Nigerian Constitution. After the quarter of 2020, a number of justices retired, making the number of justices to 13 justices and increasing the work load on the bench. The recommendation from the National Judicial Council for the appointment of 8 new judges in 2020 after the confirmation by the Nigerian Senate increased the number to 21 Justices.[4] After the death of Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, the retirement of Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, the death of Justice Samuel Oseji, the retirement of Justice Mary Odili, the retirement of Justice Ejembi Eko, the retirement of Justice Abdu Aboki and the resignation of Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, it became a total number of 13 Justices in the Supreme Court of Nigeria including the Chief Justice of Nigeria. A notable name is Justce G.B.A. Coker , a Lagos High Chief who was a Justice on the Nigerian Supreme Court from 1964 until 1975. Coker was notable for his judgements in stay of execution pending judgement cases. Two notable cases of the nature were Vaswani v Savalakh and Utilgas Nigerian And Overseas Gas Co. Ltd.v. Pan African Bank Ltd.[5] The Coker Commission of Inquiry was set up in 1962 during the political crisis in the Western Region of Nigeria. George Baptist Ayodola Coker was appointed by Moses Majekodunmi, the sole administrator of the Western Region, to chair the commission of inquiry into the affairs of the Regions in which Chief Obafemi Awolowo was found guilty.