CJN Tanko Quits Office Under Pressure From Protesting Justices, Ariwoola Next In Line

Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, has resigned his office, ostensibly for health reasons.

  Justice Muhammad has been under fire from his brothers-justice at the Supreme Court over his handling of the affairs of the Supreme Court, including their welfare and a whiff of alleged corruption on the part of the CJN.

 Justice Muhammad is 68 and not expected to leave the CJN post until December 2024 when he would have clocked 70, the retirement age of Supreme Court Justices in Nigeria.  

Following this unexpected development, the most senior justice at the Supreme Court is Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, from Oyo State, is expected to step in as CJN.

 Barring any other development, Justice Ariwoola is expected to be sworn in first in acting capacity and later as the substantive CJN.

 Last week, a leaked memo by 14 Justices of the Supreme Court protesting Muhammad’s regime as CJN made the round in the media, which sent tongues wagging about the CJN.

  Recall that Justice Muhammad was made CJN in controversial circumstances in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari following the overnight ouster of then CJN Justice Walter Onnoghen over allegation of breach of public trust in his asset declaration form and alleged corruption.