Top officials in both the Supreme Court and the SSS have told The Gazette that Mr Ariwoola, who was sworn in as chief justice on October 12, has been asked to resign following comments praising Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde's membership in the so-called "Integrity Group" set up by Nyesom Wike and other disgruntled governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to derail the opposition's efforts ahead of general elections

While hailing Mr. Wike’s achievements at a gala night in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Mr. Ariwoola expressed his gladness that the Oyo State governor aligned himself with the group also comprising Governors Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, and Samuel Ortom of Benue. The so-called G5 seeks the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, after the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate. The disgruntled governors reached an agreement in which Mr. Ayu agreed to step down as chairman if a northerner emerged as the party's standard-bearer in 2023.

Mr. Ayu and Mr. Abubakar, a northerner who won the party's presidential nomination at its convention on May 28, both denied that such an agreement ever took place. Mr. Wike and the governors who support him have also not shown any proof of a backdoor agreement before or after the May primaries.

The crisis has continued to hurt the main opposition's plans for 2023, and Mr. Wike was made fun of when he brought it up because he thought losing the primary to Mr. Abubakar was a humiliating loss.

The Chief Justice, who heads Nigeria’s judiciary, took sides with Mr. Wike in the matter during his speech at the dinner last week that was bankrolled by the Rivers governor.

"That is why we should not be afraid of these men of the Integrity Group," Mr Ariwoola said. "I am glad that my own governor (Makinde) is among them because he would try to imitate his friend and in-law because we came here to marry for my governor."

The Supreme Court, in a statement by its spokesperson, Festus Akande, quickly denied Mr. Ariwoola’s utterances as fake news, saying: "We don’t also know at what point the CJN said he was happy that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was a member of the now-christened "Integrity Group" or "G5 Governors."

But a video quickly emerged from the event that further stoked the collective outrage of Nigerians, who said the Chief Justice’s comments had all but diminished the independence of the judiciary.

Critics, including the PDP, northern groups, the SSS, and justices, described the utterances as capable of further dividing the major opposition party, threatening the country’s democracy, and eroding Nigerians’ confidence in the judiciary.

They argued that the utterances contradicted Rule 1(5) of the Judicial Code of Conduct, which states that "A judge must avoid social relationships that are improper." The rule also said judges should avoid conduct that "may cast doubt on the ability of a judicial officer to decide cases impartially."

The justices are concerned that Mr. Ariwoola’s conduct reflected an explicit bias that could complicate his ability to impartially assign judges to cases without being second-guessed. It was unclear how the crisis in the PDP would end, but political observers feared it might end up at the Supreme Court, especially as Mr. Wike had already instituted a lawsuit against Mr. Abubakar’s victory.

According to an SSS source familiar with the situation, Mr Ariwoola was grilled and warned to resign "because it (partisan political grandstanding) might get dirty for him."

The SSS source said Mr. Ariwoola "refused to step down." But this did not stop his associate justices from pressing on with demands for him to stand down to save the judiciary from further reputational damage.

A top official at the Supreme Court said that five jurists expressed their displeasure at Mr. Ariwoola for frolicking with politicians and asked him to step down.

Should the CJN fail to resign voluntarily, the justices threatened to communicate their positions through a letter in the same manner that they accused his predecessor, Ibrahim Tanko, of being corrupt and irresponsible before successfully ousting him from office. The verbal fireworks have lingered around the halls of the country’s top court since last week, The Gazette was told.

"Even as a joke, it was an expensive one that should have cost him his office," a Supreme Court official said under anonymity for lack of permission to discuss internal deliberations. "So other judges will know the office is not for comedians but for people who are serious."

Mr. Wike, who has over the years reportedly bragged about his influence over the judiciary across the country, was also alleged to have been bribing judges following his rapport with the judicial officers.

"We already have information that Wike has been bribing judges, so they will make an example of him." "Other judges will be careful about getting involved in political activities," the Supreme Court source said.

The governor did not immediately respond to requests seeking his comments on whether or not his public affinity with the chief justice augurs perils for the Nigerian judiciary.

Mr. Wike had, in 2020, while distributing Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to judges in the state judiciary, criticised judicial officers involved in partisan politics.

"Judging and politics are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Because of this, no judge can be both and claim to be independent and fair," the governor had said.

He also said, "Heads of the country's judicial system should take action to fix the weaknesses and processes that have kept corruption in the courts possible."