‘Respect yourselves’ — CJN asks new chief judges to mind the company they keep

Ibrahim Muhammad, chief justice of Nigeria, has asked the newly sworn in chief judge of the federal high court and president of the national industrial court of Nigeria to respect their oath of office.

Muhammad said this during the oath taking ceremony of John Tsoho, chief judge of the federal high court, and Benedict Kanyip, president of the national industrial court of Nigeria (NICN), which was held at the supreme court on Friday.

The CJN said: “Oath taking into an office is not something to celebrate; it is something that… we all have to sympathise with the person who is sworn in….”

“The very time you take that oath, you are bound to respect that oath. All your conducts and dealings must be within the scope of that oath.

“It is a solemn undertaken between you and your creator. Therefore, a very tender job like that of a judge is something that requires prayers.

”At the end of the oath, the subscriber says so help me God but certainly, God will not help you if you don’t help yourself.

“The first thing to do in other to help yourself is to respect yourself, know your onions and know the kind of people you move with. Know your principles and don’t allow anybody to disturb those principles.”