The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, has said that the justices of the Supreme Court are not repository of knowledge, hence are fallible and always amenable to correction. A statement signed by Festus Akande, the Supreme Court’s Director of Press and Information, said Justice Muhammad made the assertion on Tuesday in Abuja.
Akande said the CJN was speaking during a courtesy visit by members of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to the Supreme Court.
“With the way we operate, if any of you has any reservations, please, write us and criticise us within the ambit of your knowledge and experience. “We can’t claim to know it all. We are still learning because learning, as we all know, is a continuum. “Our doors are wide open for constructive criticisms. Even our grammar, punctuation have to be corrected to avoid any error in the rulings and judgments we give.”
The CJN informed his visitors that as justices, they did not pick offence when their written drafts of judgments were corrected. He said this was especially with regard to errors arising from the use of grammar. He asserted that it was a practice in Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to ensure that all judgments come out in an acceptable manner after all the necessary criticisms and corrections. He said that what every right-thinking and serious-minded judge needed to do was to cultivate the culture of patience and acceptability so that they don’t erroneously assume to be a repository of knowledge and wisdom.
“The rules provide that each judge should give his own independent judgment but they are equally at liberty to adopt what has been offered. “No coercion, no intimidation and no compelling force to make any judge align with the opinions and views of others. “We are very free to maintain our stance and even present a dissenting judgment if we feel opposed to a popular view.’’
