The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Mohammad on Thursday rated Nigerian women judges high in the discharge of their Judicial functions, in spite of challenges.
The CJN disclosed that going by the current trend, female judges would soon take over the judiciary in Lagos.
Justice Mohammad who spoke in Abuja at the biennial conference of the National Association of Women Judges in Nigeria (NAWJN), however said he was not surprised about women judges because they have expertise that can not be doubted.
Mohammad, who spoke through Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, a Justice of the Supreme Court, pleaded with women judges to continue to make giant strides in the discharge of their judicial functions.
He noted that female judges have something we (men) don’t have.
Their expertise and thoroughness are not in doubt, he said.”I’m happy that woman judges in every state in Nigerian have been doing wonderfully well, they have that expertise, and happily I want to say that very soon they will take the judiciary in Lagos.”
He then challenged them to keep it up.
The CJN thanked Justice Mary Odili, who is the outgoing chairperson of NAWJN, for her tremendous contribution to the association.
Justice Odili in her welcome address, lamented that women are still being discriminated against in the country.
She noted that challenges faced by women in the work environment in Nigeria, particularly judges, is worthy of consideration at such a national conference.
She said that as a developing nation, the place and the role of women is till being confused and largely misunderstood.”
As we look up to government for the 35% affirmative action the need to have women prepare themselves to take up the opportunities on arrival is imperative and it is a task which we must champion and pursue with vigour.”
Justice Odili thanked women judges for their support during her leadership and urged them to extend the same co-operation to the team taking over from her to enable them attain the set objectives.
In her keynote address , Minister of Women Affairs Mrs. Pauline Tallen admonished judges, especially females to promote an active and visible policy in mainstreaming a gender perspective, especially when addressing issues of human rights .
She also advised female judges to discharge their responsibilities to the highest standards in order to earn public trust which is critical to the rule of law.
“The Judiciary will not be trusted if it is viewed as oblivious to changes in society and to the needs of the most vulnerable,” she stressed.
She lamented that despite the existence of laws protecting the female from all forms of discrimination, many communities in Nigeria lack the awareness of the existence of these laws.”
We are therefore not in short supply of these laws but implementation has always been a problem”, she added.
Secretary of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Gambo Salem, also noted that female judges have always distinguished themselves in their work place.
According to him, the country is witnessing a steady growth in the number of female judges.
As at 2017, over 300 women judges were in active service. In 2020 the figure has grown by 30% and it is expected to grow even higher this year, he noted.
The theme of the 2-day conference is “The women: Her work place.”
