The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has urged senior judges to make mentoring junior judicial officers a habit, to ensure a seamless transfer of knowledge within the Bench.
She made the call while speaking at the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association Annual Conference in Kingston, Jamaica.
According to a statement by her spokesman, Tobi Soniyi, the CJN spoke on a panel session themed “Judicial Bullying and Harassment.”
She said senior judicial officers have a legitimate role in mentoring, supervising and correcting their junior colleagues, and that they hold institutional knowledge that cannot be acquired from books.
“They have a responsibility to guide younger colleagues, share experience and help them understand the demands of the Bench,” she was quoted as saying.
Justice Kekere-Ekun stressed that mentorship should build a junior judge’s confidence rather than diminish it.
A judge, she said, should be able to ask questions without embarrassment and acknowledge uncertainty without fear that the admission would later be used against him or her.
She added that a newly appointed judge should be free to disagree with a senior colleague, and that a junior judicial officer should be able to raise concerns about administrative practice without being labelled difficult.
In her view, a judge should be able to express an independent opinion without worrying about personal consequences.
“The Judiciary is an institution founded upon reasoned disagreement,” she said. “Judging at the appellate level, in particular, depends upon the ability of Judges to consider different perspectives and, where necessary, to disagree. If seniority becomes a substitute for persuasion, the quality of judicial reasoning suffers.”
While acknowledging the importance of respect for seniority, the CJN warned that deference to seniority must not come at the expense of independent judgment.
She also reminded judges of the need for accountability, stating that they must answer for their conduct, productivity and adherence to professional standards. Judicial independence, she noted, does not mean freedom from accountability.