Judiciary General

Chief Judge Directs Christmas Vacation for Rivers State High Court Judges

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, has approved the Christmas vacation for judges of the state High Court. In a statement issued by the Chief Registrar, David Ihua-Maduenyi, the vacation will begin on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, and end on Friday, January 9, 2026. Judges are expected to resume normal court sittings

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Features General Judiciary

Op-Ed: On Whose Mandate Do Judges Stand? By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Atanda Fatayi Williams, the fourth Chief Justice of post-colonial Nigeria (CJN), has not always received the kind of credit that he probably should for a judicial career of impact. Few judicial careers in Nigerian history can compete with that of this grand-son of an Ijebu merchant in terms of both legacy and luminosity. Sworn in

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Judiciary General

All Set for Swearing-In of Customary Court Chairmen and Members in Rivers State

All is now set for the swearing-in of chairmen and members of the Customary Courts of the Rivers State Judiciary. According to a statement signed by the Secretary of the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission, Blessing Vic Jumbo, the event will hold today, Monday, October 13, at 11 a.m., at the Ceremonial Court Hall of

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Features Judiciary Politics

Senior advocates of no-consequence by Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

The ritual of the “Call to Bar” is the formal ceremony for the admission of new entrants into Nigeria’s legal profession. The responsibility for administering it resides in the Body of Benchers (BoB), a statutory entity described by law as “a body of legal practitioners of the highest distinction in the legal profession in Nigeria.”   The solemnity of

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General Judiciary

ICPC Confirms Petition Seeking Probe of Former Rivers Sole Administrator Ibas

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed receiving a petition calling for an investigation into the handling of Rivers State’s federal allocations by the state’s former Sole Administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas. The petition, submitted by civil rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, on September 23, 2025, came

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Judiciary Politics

Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Rivers State Emergency Rule

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit challenging the proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu. The suit, filed by Belema Briggs and four others, sought to nullify the President’s decision on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the

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Judiciary Politics

CJN to Swear In 57 New Senior Advocates as Supreme Court Marks New Legal Year

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, will on Monday, September 29, swear in 57 newly appointed Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs). The swearing-in ceremony forms part of activities marking the commencement of the 2025/2026 legal year of the Supreme Court. The event is scheduled to hold at the main courtroom of the apex

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Features Judiciary Politics

Supreme Enablers; Constitutional Outrage by Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

“The judiciary have a wide scope for making political decisions.” J.A.G. Griffiths, “Constitutional and Administrative Law’ in Peter Archer & Andrew Martin (Eds), More Law Reform Now, 55 (1983) ​The judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 19 January 2006 concerning the state of emergency in Plateau State came down 20 months after the proclamation and 14

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Features Judiciary Politics

Nigeria: How Politicians Started Dashing Cars and Houses to Judges, By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

In January 1993, Ibrahim Babangida was Nigeria’s military ruler. He was supposedly in the last year of an interminable transition at the end of which he promised to hand over power to an elected civilian administration. Moshood Abiola was actively canvassing to inherit that mantle. As Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mohammed Bello was in

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