The Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria are members of the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

composed of the

Chief Justice of Nigeria The Chief Justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current Chief Justice is Olukayode Ariwoola who was appo ...

and other justices 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 The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

. 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.

Recent history

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 workload on the bench. The recommendation from the National Judicial Council for the appointment of 8 new judges in 2020 after the confirmation by the

increased the number to 21 Justices. After the death of Justice

Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, CFR (30 March 1951 – 7 March 2021) was a Nigerian jurist and Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He served on the Supreme Court from 2011 until his death in 2021. Early life Justice Sylvester was born in 1951 i ...

, the retirement of Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, the death of Justice Samuel Oseji, the retirement of Justice

Mary Odili Mary Ukaego Odili (née Nzenwa; CFR born 12 May 1952) is a Nigerian judge and wife of Peter Odili, who served as Governor of Rivers State from 1999 to 2007. She was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (JSC) by Presiden ...

, the retirement of Justice

Ejembi Eko Ejembi Eko (born 23 May 1952 Benue State, Nigeria) is a Nigerian jurist and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what ...

, the retirement of Justice Abdu Aboki and the resignation of Chief Justice

Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad Ibrahim Muhammad Tanko (born 31 December 1953) is a Nigerian jurist, who served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria from 2006 to 2022 and as Chief Justice of Nigeria from 2019 until his resignation in June 2022 citing ill-health as the ...

, it became a total number of 13 Justices in the

including the

. The death of Justice Chima Nweze in July 2023 and the retirement of Justice

Amina Augie Amina Adamu Augie (born 3 September 1953 in Kebbi State, Nigeria) is a Nigerian jurist and justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Early life and educational background Augie was born on September 3, 1953, in Lagos, Nigeria. She has eight sib ...

and Justice

Musa Dattijo Muhammad Musa Dattijo Muhammad (born 27 October 1953) is a Nigerian jurist and Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Early life Musa Dattijo was born on 27 October 1953 at Chanchaga, a local government area in Minna, the capital of Niger State, Nort ...

in September and October 2023 respectively, further reduced the number of Justices to 10. On 21 December 2023, the Nigerian Senate confirmed the appointment of 11 more Supreme Court justices, bringing the number of justices in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

to the maximum constitutional requirement of 21 for the first time since 2020. The 11 justices were sworn in on 26 February 2024.

Current Justices of the Supreme Court

References

Supreme Court of Nigeria justices {{Nigeria-law-stub