Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, has charged the 22 newly sworn-in judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to refrain from anything that would smear their names or bring them into disrepute.

The CJN, during the swearing in of the judges at the Supreme Court in Abuja yesterday, said, “The Bench is neither for the prosaic, the greedy nor those with questionable character who can easily fall for a plate of porridge offered by desperate litigants” and charged them to rise above temptations and trials that might obstruct or even halt their rise to the pinnacle of their career.

According to the CJN, the newly sworn-in judges had entered a lifetime covenant with God and the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that whatever they do rightly would be counted and accordingly recorded in their favour.

Appointment to the Bench is not an appointment to wealth, vain glory, dishonest disposition or ostentatious lifestyle through corrupt acquaintances,” he said and told them that the searchlight of the National Judicial Council (NJC) is being beamed on all judicial officers across the country.

Our radar is sophisticated enough to detect every form of corruption and wrong doings. The remoteness of your location of adjudication can never blur our sight on you”, he told the judges, adding that the NJC has powerful lens to capture and document their conduct and urged them to be careful in their conduct to avoid regretting being appointed as judicial officers,’’ he said.