By President Aigbokhan and Francisca Ekereokosu
president@foicounsel.com
In an era when the judiciary must simultaneously guard the frontiers of constitutionalism and adjudicate society’s most intractable disputes, the imperatives of competence, ethics, and institutional resilience are no longer optional ideals but existential necessities.
The Nigerian Bench, long burdened by the twin spectres of public distrust and systemic inertia, now finds itself at a crossroads where renewal or decline will define its legacy. Within this fraught landscape, the interventions of Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun stand out as both corrective and restorative.
By insisting upon uncompromising ethical benchmarks, Justice Kekere-Ekun has fostered a culture in which the judiciary cannot be an accomplice to impunity, but rather a sanctuary of accountability. These sanctions, far from being punitive alone, are corrective instruments, recalibrating the moral compass of judicial officers and thereby anchoring the institution in the twin virtues of probity and fairness.
Equally significant is her prodigious learning and judicious temperament, epitomizes the rare blend of intellectual rigour and principled restraint that the Nigerian judiciary so desperately requires in its rebirth. Her judicial training exercises have illuminated the path toward elevating the standards of judicial craftsmanship.
Around the world, courts are grappling with unprecedented pressures: the technological transformation of litigation, rising public distrust in judiciary, the cross-border nature of commerce and crime, and the persistent demands for inclusivity and fairness in justice delivery. Nigeria is no exception. Indeed, in recent years, calls for judicial reform have intensified amid concerns over delay, inconsistency, and questions of integrity within the system.
At the centre of this conversation lies the National Judicial Institute (NJI) — an institution tasked with preparing judicial officers to meet the demands of their office in a changing legal landscape.
As the apex training body for Nigeria’s judiciary, the NJI is more than an administrative appendage; it is a crucible for shaping the quality of justice the nation delivers.
It is a hub for judicial philosophy, ethics, and policy advancement — the forum where the judiciary can reflect on its role in society, and equip itself to handle emerging legal challenges.
In a rapidly globalizing world, with technology disrupting the NJI’s role in preparing the Bench for these realities is critical.
The leadership must be an ethical hacker more than a manager, tested reformer, and a guardian of institutional ideals.
Hon. Justice Benedict Bakwaph Adejumo embodies this rare combination. Appointed as Administrator of the NJI in July 2025.
His appointment, announced by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, was not merely ceremonial recognition of past service; it was a strategic decision — a deliberate choice to entrust the NJI’s future to a leader whose entire career has been defined by reformist zeal and administrative zest.
He was the pioneering President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Justice Adejumo enters the role with a distinguished record of institutional transformation.
But unlike many who move directly from legal practice to the Bench, Adejumo’s path was more varied — and this variety would later become one of his greatest strengths as a judicial leader.
In January 1992, he was elected as a Parliamentarian in the Ondo State House of Assembly. There, he gained a deep appreciation for the interplay between law-making and governance, and how judicial interpretation must be informed by a nuanced understanding of public policy.
The real test of Justice Adejumo’s reformist instinct came in November 1998, when he was appointed a Judge of the Ondo State Judiciary. His combination of legislative insight and judicial acumen positioned him uniquely for the role that would define his career. In 2003, then-President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him as the pioneer President of the newly reconstituted National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), and he was sworn in on May 5 of that year.
The NICN was, at the time, a little-known body with limited jurisdiction, minimal public visibility, and scant resources. In sixteen years, Adejumo reshaped it to powerhouse of labour jurisprudence, respected both nationally and internationally.
Perhaps most significantly, Adejumo brought to the NICN a leadership style that combined administrative hands-on involvement with strategic vision. His emphasis on modernization was not mere rhetoric — it became embedded in the institutional culture of the NICN.
Under his leadership, the NICN expanded its physical presence to 28 states, decentralizing access to labour justice. The court became the first court in Nigeria to adopt e-filing systems and later virtual hearings, positioning it at the forefront of judicial technology adoption.
In 2019, I had occasion to file processes on the very same day before the High Court of Rivers State, the National Industrial Court, and the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.
The contrast in institutional culture could not have been more striking. At the NICN, the courtesy, efficiency, and comportment of the staff were exemplary—indeed, they conducted themselves with professionalism that belied their modest remuneration, as though their service was animated by something higher than pecuniary reward.
Hearing notices were generated and dispatched with admirable precision, often days ahead of the scheduled sitting, reflecting an ethos of orderliness that other courts would do well to emulate.
In a single phrase, the staff of the NICN are ethically contented. Such a culture does not emerge by happenstance; it is the unmistakable product of leadership that prizes discipline, values systems, and institutional dignity.
The court earned a reputation for speed, transparency, and responsiveness, with case management reforms reducing procedural bottlenecks.
Back to the National Judicial Institute (NJI), the institute occupies a pivotal place in Nigeria’s legal architecture. Its mandate is both broad and vital: to provide continuing education, training, and development for judicial officers and their supporting staff across all tiers of the judiciary. This includes organizing courses, seminars, lectures, workshops, and other activities designed to enhance competence, ethical conduct, and jurisprudential adaptability.
Justice Adejumo’s new role invites comparison with leaders of other judicial training institutions worldwide — not merely for the sake of analogy, but to illuminate the attributes that make for successful stewardship of such bodies. The National Judicial College of United States, founded in 1963, has been led by presidents who understood that judicial education must be proactive, not reactive. Lately, they have organized courses on emerging areas like cybercrime, judicial ethics in the age of social media, and trauma-informed judging.
Adejumo’s own NICN reforms suggest a similar adaptability, particularly in embracing technology early on. His legislative background equips him well to appreciate the societal dimensions of adjudication in the same way.
The most effective leaders of judicial training institutions are those who can fuse visionary policy direction with hands-on institutional management, recognizing the judiciary’s social responsibilities alongside socio-legal change.
Drawing from his NICN experience, Justice Adejumo is well-placed to drive a new era for the NJI.
The appointment and decision of the CJN is not to be mistaken for routine bureaucracy but a clarion call to elevate the judiciary’s conscience and competence to a new horizon.
Anticipated priorities include curricular modernization to include emerging fields such as digital law, climate litigation, and transnational crime with partnership with established and emerging trainers like Juriturst
Challenges will inevitably arise — from budgetary constraints to institutional resistance — but Adejumo’s history suggests he is unlikely to be daunted by entrenched barriers.
The convergence of Kekere-Ekun’s principled leadership and Adejumo’s tested administrative acumen will not doubt produce an uncommon synergy. Together, they embody a judicial renaissance—an alliance between tradition and innovation, elasticity and dynamism, continuity and reform.
The CJNs steadfast insistence on sanctioning misconduct and entrenching disciplinary fidelity among judges and advocates alike has not merely reinforced judicial probity—it has carved a legend of principled stewardship that underscores the judiciary’s capacity for self-cleansing and moral regeneration.
For an institution often maligned as aloof, the NJI under this stewardship stands poised to reinvigorate the ethos of judicial service, signaling a determination to reposition judicial training not as a ceremonial exercise, but as the intellectual crucible upon which the future of Nigeria’s justice system must be forged. By connecting the pedagogical power of judicial training with the restorative discipline of sanctions, Justice Kekere-Ekun embodies a template for institutional renewal.
The Nigerian judiciary, once enfeebled by public distrust, stands on the cusp of restoration through her example—an edifice of justice being rebuilt, stone by stone, upon the
foundations of integrity, scholarship, and moral courage.