- Special Court Session is to be presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria
The Justices on the bench of the Supreme Court has depleted to 10 as Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad bows out on Friday, October 27, 2023.
The retirement notice served on the apex court’s management by Justice Dattijo will lapse on the date when a valedictory court session will be held in his honour.
A statement on Sunday in Abuja by the Court’s Director of Press and Information, Dr Festus Akande indicated that the valedictory session will hold at the Main Courtroom of the Supreme Court by 10:00 am.
According to the statement, the Special Court Session is to be presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who will customarily pay tribute to Justice Dattijo alongside other major stakeholders in the nation’s justice sector.
Justice Musa Dattijo who hails from Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, was born on Tuesday, 27th October, 1953 in Minna. He attended Native Primary School, Minna from 1960 to 1966 for his First School Leaving Certificate.
Between 1967 and 1971, he was at Sheikh Sabbah College (now Sardauna Memorial Secondary School), Kaduna, from where he proceeded to Abdullahi Bayero College, Kano for a Pre-Degree programme which aided his immediate admission into the Faculty of Law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he bagged a degree in Law in 1977.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar on 2nd July, 1977. Justice Dattijo subsequently sought for admission at Warwick University in 1982 for an LLM Degree which he obtained in 1983.
Justice Dattijo was elevated to the Court of Appeal on 21st November, 1998 from the Niger State Judiciary, and served at different Divisions.
He took the oath of office as Justice of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 10th July, 2012.
“With the retirement of Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, the Supreme Court of Nigeria is now left with 10 Justices”, the statement said.