While the Supreme Court of Nigeria has issued a warning against peddling falsehood and mischievous reports against Justices on its bench and the judiciary as an institution, rights activist and law teacher, Chidi Odinkalu, maintains that members of the judiciary should not be found mingling with the public to avoid casting ….
The topmost court on Saturday said it will no longer tolerate deliberate falsehood being propagated to lower the integrity of individual Justices and the judiciary.
This was in reaction to a post on X by Chidi Odinkalu, suggesting that one of its Justices was found in the company of the Attorney General of Edo State during a trip to Benin City despite a political case recently filed before the Court.
The apex court then urged commentators on judicial matters to always exercise responsibility, discretion and restraint in their comments.
A statement on Saturday signed by Dr. Festus Akande, the Director of Information and Public Relations of the Supreme Court reads in part, “The attention of the Supreme Court has been drawn to a disturbing and false narrative being circulated on social media and certain online platforms alleging that a Justice of the Supreme Court travelled to Benin City on account of a political case recently filed before the Court.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Honourable Justice in question travelled to Benin City on Thursday, 12th June, 2025 to attend the funeral rites of the late mother of Mr. Hannibal Uwaifo, a senior member of the Bar and immediate past President of the African Bar Association.
“Prior to the journey, the said Justice formally sought and obtained permission from the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria to embark on the trip.
“This private visit was strictly for the purposes of condolence and bereavement as is customary and humane.
“The Honourable Justice neither attended any political meeting nor solicited for inclusion on any panel as falsely alleged.
“In fact, apart from the funeral service held at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church and a brief stop at the service of songs, the Honourable Justice retired to his hotel room without attending any further gatherings or receptions.
“The image being circulated purportedly as evidence merely shows the Justice returning alone to his hotel, hardly a basis for the sensational claims being peddled.
“The Supreme Court wishes to state unequivocally that this sort of baseless speculation and malicious conjecture, especially when publicly propagated by persons who ought to know better is not only unhelpful but also deeply harmful to the integrity of the Judiciary.
“We strongly urge members of the public, especially commentators on judicial matters to exercise responsibility and discretion.
“Where there is any doubt or lack of clarity, the appropriate step is to seek verification from the Supreme Court through its official communication channels rather than resorting to the spread of falsehoods aimed at maligning the image of the Justices or bringing the judiciary into disrepute.
“The judiciary remains committed to upholding the rule of law and will not be distracted by deliberate attempts to undermine its credibility”, the statement said.
In a statement issued on X Saturday, 14 June, 2025, Odinkalu maintained that “The Judicial Code of Conduct imposes clear constraints on the social networks & movement of judges.”
The statement reads:
CONCERNING JUDICIAL INTEGRITY: A STATEMENT
In the week in which we buried the longest-serving Justice of @SupremeCourtNg & the 2nd-longest-serving #CJN, we find ourselves once again in a situation that calls attention to the need to address tone-deafness to judicial integrity.
2 days after the Edo State Governorship Election Petition ended up in @SupremeCourtNg, the 2nd senior-most JSC was where he did not need to be & company he didn’t need to keep in Benin-City. Only the wilful wld miss the implications of that for optics of judicial impartiality.
Since I disclosed this yesterday, I have received lots of calls from political & judicial insiders explaining why he was in the state; telling me that judges need to have a social life; & saying that a judge still shd enjoy the fullest of constitutional rights of free movement.
There are also claims that he cld not have gone to Benin to collect a bribe. That is silly & I will begin with that. S. 36(1) makes an independent & impartial judiciary a constitutional right. We have a duty to defend it as citizens. We defend judges & ourselves when we do.
No one has said or suggested that the judge in question went to Benin to collect a bribe.
The fact that those who say this think it is a defence shows how serious our crisis of judicial integrity is. The constitutional standard is appearance of bias, not active bribery.
Those who claim that a judge can mix with anyone or go anywhere are either deliberately uninformed or wilfully illiterate. The Judicial Code of Conduct imposes clear constraints on the social networks & movement of judges. Those constraints are not artifices. They are mandatory.
There is no right to be a judge nor a duty to remain a judge after appointment. A person who prizes their social networks above judicial office has a choice: they can resign from the bench in order to fully access the right “to enjoy”. That wld be both honest & lawful.
Let me be clear: being a judge is a very serious privilege & call to service. Those who are appointed to that office were traditionally held up to standards that are divine. So we call them #MyLord. It comes with obligations too: being a judge is a constraint on social life.
In recognition of that, society offered judges a place of respect reserved only for the divine. This #implicitbargain has now been retrenched in favour of judicial impunity. Those who justify this want us to normalize the casualisation of judges. We refuse….!
Any judge, no matter how senior, who chooses to remain in office, is bound by these standards. The provisions are clear. The leadership of @njcNighas a duty to ensure consequences for infractions that compromise perceptions of judicial integrity. https://njc.gov.ng/code-of-conduct
No one seriously denies the facts I put out. Instead, facts have bn provided which corroborate the essential contours of everything I said. If @SupremeCourtNg or SANs don’t realize that the optics of this situation are destructive for the Court at this time, then we’re in crisis.
The judiciary is too important to be ignored & @SupremeCourtNg is a shrine in whose sanctity every citizen must have an interest. It wld be prudent for the leadership of the judiciary to police itself. To the extent that they have failed to do so, citizens must help & remind them.
To adapt the late Thandika Mkandawire, we cannot behave as it our judiciary can be transformed by the force of impunity or wilful ignorance. On this, I hope, we can achieve critical consensus.
