The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has urged senior judges to make mentoring a habit to ensure a smooth transfer of knowledge.
Justice Kekere-Ekun offered this advice while speaking at the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Annual Conference in Kingston, Jamaica.
The CJN noted that senior judicial officers have a legitimate role in mentoring, supervising and correcting junior colleagues.
According to a statement from her spokesman, Tobi Soniyi, the CJN, who was part of a panel session on the topic “Judicial bullying and harassment,” said senior judges possess institutional knowledge that cannot be acquired from books.
She was quoted as saying, “They have a responsibility to guide younger colleagues, share experience and help them understand the demands of the Bench.”
According to her, mentorship should give a junior judge greater confidence, not less, adding that a judge should be able to ask a question without embarrassment and acknowledge uncertainty without fearing that the admission would later be used against him or her.
She said a newly appointed judge should be able to disagree with a senior colleague without fear, and that a junior judicial officer should be able to raise concerns about administrative practice without being regarded as difficult.
Justice Kekere-Ekun held that a judge should be able to express an independent view without worrying about personal consequences.
She said, “The Judiciary is an institution founded upon reasoned disagreement. Judging at the appellate level depends on judges’ ability to consider different perspectives and, where necessary, disagree. If seniority becomes a substitute for persuasion, the quality of judicial reasoning suffers.”
While stressing the importance of respect for seniority, she warned that judges should not sacrifice independent judgment to seniority.
The CJN reminded judges of the importance of accountability, stressing that judges must also be accountable for their conduct, productivity and adherence to professional standards.
She, however, noted that judicial independence did not mean freedom from accountability.