CJN Kekere-Ekun Urges Senior Judges to Mentor Junior Colleagues

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has urged senior judges to mentor junior judicial officers to promote knowledge sharing, strengthen judicial independence and improve the quality of justice delivery.

Kekere-Ekun made the call while speaking at the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Annual Conference in Kingston, Jamaica, during a panel session on “Judicial Bullying and Harassment.”

According to a statement issued by her spokesman, Tobi Soniyi, the CJN said senior judges possessed valuable institutional knowledge and practical experience that could not be acquired from textbooks alone.

She stressed that senior judicial officers had a responsibility to guide, supervise and correct their junior colleagues in a supportive and professional manner.

“Mentorship should give a junior judge greater confidence, not less, as a judge should be able to ask a question without embarrassment and acknowledge uncertainty without fearing that the admission would later be used against him or her,” she said.

The CJN also emphasised that newly appointed judges should be able to disagree with senior colleagues, raise concerns about administrative practices and express independent opinions without fear of victimisation.

She noted that independent reasoning was essential to judicial work, particularly at the appellate level, where judges must consider different perspectives and sometimes reach different conclusions.

“If seniority becomes a substitute for persuasion, the quality of judicial reasoning suffers,” Kekere-Ekun said.

However, she cautioned that respect for seniority remained important, stressing that it should not undermine independent judgment or the proper discharge of judicial responsibilities.

The CJN further highlighted the importance of accountability within the judiciary, noting that judges must be responsible for their conduct, productivity and compliance with professional standards.

She maintained that judicial independence did not exempt judicial officers from accountability, adding that both principles were necessary for maintaining public confidence in the justice system.

SEO keywords: Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Nigerian judiciary, judicial independence, mentoring junior judges, judicial accountability, Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Conference.