CJN Tanko swears-in Justices Tsoho, Kanyip

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, on Friday swore in John Tsoho and Benedict Kanyip, as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) respectively.

The oath-taking ceremony of the two judicial officials was held at the Supreme Court on Friday.

The Senate on November 5 confirmed the nomination of Mr Tsoho as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

The lawmakers also confirmed the nomination of Benedict Kanyip as the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari wrote to the Senate last week seeking confirmation of their appointments.

Mr Tsoho was on July 26 sworn in by the CJN, in an acting capacity.

His appointment followed the retirement of Adamu AbdulKafarati, who attained the retirement age of 65 years on July 25.

Mr Kanyip’s appointment was a sequel to the retirement of Babatunde Adejumo, who attained the retirement age of 65 years on October 1. He hails from Anturung-Attakar in Kaura Local Government Area, Kaduna State.

Mr Kanyip was appointed a judge of the National Industrial Court in 2000 for an initial period of four years although with eligibility for a renewal for a further term of four years.

The confirmation of Messrs Tsoho and Kanyip followed separate presentations of the report of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

The chairman of the committee, Bamidele Opeyemi (Ekiti Central), said Mr Tsoho possesses a wide range of experience, comportment and exposure. He said the judge has the requisite qualities to run the High Court and that no petition was written against him about the appointment.

In a similar vein, he said Mr Kanyip possesses the required qualities to be president of the Industrial Court and that no petition was written against him about the appointment.

The lawmakers thereafter confirmed the nominees.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, congratulated the nominees and wished them the best of tenure.

Respect yourselves, Oath taken

After Messrs Tsoho and Kanyip took their oath of allegiance, the CJN while admonishing them said “Oath taking into an office is not something to celebrate; it is something that actually we all have to sympathise with the person who is sworn-in

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“The very time you take that oath, you are bound to respect that oath. All your conducts and dealings must be within the scope of that oath.

“It is a solemn undertaken between you and your creator. Therefore, a very tender job like that of a judge is something that requires prayers.

“Pray for the person that has undertaken the oath, so that God would help him to the end of his tenure.

”At the end of the oath, the subscriber says so help me God but certainly, God will not help you if you don’t help yourself.

“The first thing to do in order to help yourself is to respect yourself, know your onions and know the kind of people you move with. Know your principles and don’t allow anybody to disturb those principles.”

Mr Mohammed said, “The law is not a respect of a person, deal with the situation as they are presented to you. You do not have any personal interest in whatever is placed before you, the moment you realise that you have an interest in a case, try to resign, otherwise, there would be a lot of challenges.”

The CJN further tasked the newly sworn-in chief judges to seek help if they encounter challenges in the course of discharging their duties.

“So if there is anything beyond your comprehension, beyond your capability, please let us put our heads together so that we can salvage the situation,” he said.