Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun takes her oath of office as the Chief Justice of Nigeria at the State House, Abuja on August 23, 2024.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is the most senior Justice on the apex court bench which puts her in the position to succeed Justice Ariwoola
By Kola Abiodun
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) pending Senate approval.
Kekere-Ekun’s swearing-in followed President Bola Tinubu’s return to Abuja on Friday after a trip to France.
Her new portfolio would be on acting capacity until Senate approves her to succeed Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who retired on Thursday August 22, 2024, after clocking the retirement age of 70 years.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who disclosed the development in a statement, said the President also congratulated Ariwoola, whose stint in the judiciary he described as a “successful public service career,” commending him for his services to the nation.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) had last week recommended Justice Kekere-Ekun to President Tinubu as Ariwoola’s successor.
NJC spokesman, Soji Oye, who disclosed this in a statement, had said that the decision was taken following the Council’s 106th Meeting presided over by the CJN Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
The Supreme Court now has the full complement of 21 Justices. In the long tradition of the apex court, the next most senior Justice will step in.
By their hierarchies, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is the most senior Justice on the apex court bench which puts her in the position to succeed Justice Ariwoola.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is one of the top female Justices in the nation’s apex court.
The 66-year-old jurist was born on May 7, 1958. She bagged her law degree from University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1981.
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She thereafter proceeded to the London School of Economic and Political Science to obtain an LL.M. in November 1983.
Justice Kekere-Ekun’s legal career started in Lagos as a private lawyer from 1985 to 1989.
In December 1989, she was appointed a Senior Magistrate Grade II, Lagos State Judiciary. She later became a Judge of the High Court of Lagos State on July 19, 1996 and served as Chairman Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos from November 1996 to May 1999.
Kekere-Ekun was elevated to the Court of Appeal on 22nd September 2004 where she served in various Divisions of the Court and as presiding Justice of two Divisions of the Court (Makurdi & Akure).
She was elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the 5th female Justice of the Court and was sworn in on Monday 8 July 2013.
The incoming CJN has attended numerous courses and seminars within and outside Nigeria and also received several merit awards.
She is also a life Bencher and a member of the International Association of Women Judges, who would also be remembered for the controversial Supreme Court ruling which brought Senator Hope Uzodimma to power in Imo State.
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