The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has urged senior judges to mentor junior judicial officers to ensure effective knowledge transfer and improve the administration of justice.
Kekere-Ekun made the call while speaking on “Judicial Bullying and Harassment” at the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Annual Conference in Kingston, Jamaica.
She said senior judges possessed valuable institutional knowledge that could not be acquired from books, stressing their responsibility to guide, supervise and correct younger colleagues without undermining their confidence.
The CJN said junior judges should be able to ask questions, acknowledge uncertainty, disagree with senior colleagues and raise concerns about administrative practices without fear of embarrassment or retaliation.
She added that judicial decision-making, particularly at the appellate level, depended on the ability to consider different perspectives and disagree when necessary.
“If seniority becomes a substitute for persuasion, the quality of judicial reasoning suffers,” she said.
Kekere-Ekun, however, emphasised the importance of respecting seniority while maintaining independent judgment.
She also stressed that judicial independence did not exempt judges from accountability, noting that they remained responsible for their conduct, productivity and adherence to professional standards.
