After the swearing-in of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria on June 27, 2022, pictures of past CJNs during their swearing-in resurfaced on social media. The pictures showed the senior Justices of the Supreme Court with leather-like tan bags hung on their right shoulders as they took the oath of office.
This has caused an unusual curiosity on social media and left many wondering: What really is contained in this ‘mystery’ bag and why has it become a regular feature of the swearing-in of Chief Justices of Nigeria? Is it for fashion? Is it a must-carry item during swearing-in?
First, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Drainage and Water Resources, Joe Igokwe, in a social media post, wondered what was in the ‘special bag’ the current CJN carried as he took the oath of office.
A similar bag was spotted when the immediate past CJN, Tanko Muhammad, was being sworn in, in 2019. Retired Justice Aloma Mukhtar, the country’s only female CJN, who served between 2012 and 2014, was also known for carrying a similar bag.
Aloma’s successor, retired Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who served as the country’s 14th CJN, was not left out in the tradition of carrying a small leather bag.
But Mohammed’s successor, Justice Walter Onnoghen, who was in office between 2017 and 2019 when he unceremoniously left, appeared to be an exception in the CJNs’ tradition of carrying the small leather bag.
Curious Nigerians, who have forever wondered why the CJNs carry the leather bag and what it contains, have tagged it various funny names.
