The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on Monday, swore in 11 new Justices of the Supreme Court, bringing the number of Justices on the apex court bench to 21.

The development was hailed by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who expressed the hope that it would translate to the clearing of the huge backlog of cases at the Supreme Court.

The swearing-in of the 11 Justices comes over two months after they were screened and confirmed by the Senate, acting on the recommendation of President Bola Tinubu.

Before now the number of Justices on the Supreme Court bench went down to an all-time low of 10, as opposed to 21 recommended by the Constitution.S

The appointment of an additional 11 Justices, giving the Supreme Court its full complement of Justices, followed agitations and calls from several quarters on the declining manpower at the apex court.

At the swearing-in, which took place at the Main Courtroom of the Supreme Court in Abuja on Monday, the CJN noted that the 11 new Justices were joining the apex court bench “at a time when the rank had been grossly depleted to an all-time low of 10 Justices for a number of reasons, mainly retirement, and deaths.”

“The inability of the court to meet up the statutory full compliment of 21 Justices had lingered on for too long,” the CJN remarked.

Others are Habeeb Abiru, Jamilu Tukur, Abubakar Umar, and Mohammed Idris. (The PUNCH)

Update news