PROFILE: Meet the seven Supreme Court justices who will determine fate of Atiku, Obi
The fate of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023 will be decided today by seven Justices of Supreme Court (JSCs).
They will determine the appeals filed by the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi against the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The seven JSCs are: John Inyang Okoro, Uwani Musa Abba-Aji, Mohammed Lawal Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim. They are expected to make a final pronouncement on the matter after reviewing the evidence and arguments presented by the parties.
Here are the brief profiles of the seven JSCs:
Justice John Inyang Okoro
He is the head of the panel and the fourth most senior JSC.
He was born on July 11, 1959 in Akwa Ibom State.
He graduated from the University of Lagos in 1984 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985.
He served as a magistrate from 1986 to 1996 and as a judge of the High Court of Akwa Ibom State from 1998 to 2006.
He was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2006 and to the Supreme Court in 2013.
He has participated in several election petition tribunals and attended many seminars, workshops and conferences both locally and internationally.
Justice Uwani Musa Abba-Aji
She is the only female JSC on the panel.
She was born on November 7, 1956, in Yobe State. She obtained a Diploma in Law and an L.L.B Hons from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1976 and 1980 respectively.
She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981 and started her career as a State Counsel in 1982.
She rose through various positions in the judiciary, becoming the first Female Judge of Yobe State Judiciary in 1991.
She was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2004 and served as the Presiding Justice of Kaduna Division for four years.
She was appointed to the Supreme Court on January 8, 2019.
Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba
He hails from Zamfara State and was born on November 16, 1958.
He graduated from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1980 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981.
He served as a Magistrate in Sokoto State Judiciary from 1982 to 1986 and as a Deputy Chief Registrar, Solicitor-General and Director-General of Ministry of Justice Sokoto State from 1989 to 1993.
He was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Sokoto State in 1993 and became the Chief Judge of Zamfara State in 1996.
He was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2004 and served as the Presiding Justice of different divisions from 2010 to 2020.
He has been a member of various judicial bodies, including the Body of Benchers, the National Judicial Institute, and the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee.
He also chaired the Presidential Election Panel that dismissed Atiku’s petition against Buhari’s election in 2019.
He was appointed to the Supreme Court on November 6, 2020.
Justice Ibrahim Saulawa
He was born on September 29, 1956 in Katsina State.
He graduated from Bayero University Kano in 1981 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
He started his career with the Ministry of Justice, Kaduna State in 1982 and later became a Magistrate in 1983.
He served as the Chief Magistrate of Katsina State Judiciary from 1987 to 1991 and as the Deputy Chief Registrar/Chief Registrar of Court of Appeal Lagos from 1991 to 1994.
He was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Katsina State in 1994 and served until 2006.
He was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2006 and served as the Presiding Justice of different divisions from 2015 to 2020.
He was appointed to the Supreme Court on November 10, 2020.
Justice Adamu Jauro
He hails from Gombe State and was born on June 26, 1959.
He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he obtained his LLB Degree in 1980.
He also holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Jos and a certificate from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.
He worked with the Ministry of Justice in 1983 and became the Director of Public Prosecution.
He was appointed a judge of the Gombe State Judiciary in 1992 and served till 2007.
He was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2007 and served in different divisions until 2020.
He was elevated to the Supreme Court bench in November 2020.
Justice Tijjani Abubakar
He is from Yobe State and was born on April 15, 1960.
He graduated from the University of Maiduguri in 1982 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1983.
He worked as a Permanent Secretary, State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Yobe State at different times.
He also had a private legal practice and established his own law firm, Tijani Abubakar and Co., in 2004.
He was appointed a judge of the Federal High Court and later a Justice of the Court of Appeal in 2012.
He was serving at the Lagos Division of the appellate court when he was elevated to the Supreme Court Bench in 2020.
Justice Emmanuel Agim
He hails from Cross Rivers State and was born on April 26, 1960.
He obtained his LLB from the University of Calabar, his BL from the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, and his LLM from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.
He served as the President of the Court of Appeal of The Gambia and as the Chief Justice of The Gambia for three years.
He also served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Swaziland on the first all-black bench in the history of Swaziland and her sister countries- Botswana and Lesotho.
He was sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria by the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, in 2012.
He was elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria in October 2019.
