Justice Kekere-Ekun To Become Second Female CJN

Justice Kekere-Ekun To Become Second Female CJN

….As Ariwoola Retires Aug.22

From Aisha Musa Abuja

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun of the Supreme Court is set to emerge as the second female chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) after Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar.

Justice Aloma Mukhtar who was the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria held the position between July 2012 and November 2014 when she retired.

Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the incumbent CJN who assumed office on June 27, 2022, will formally bow out on Thursday, August 22, 2024, after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.

By judicial ranking, the 66-year-old female jurist is the most senior justice of the Supreme Court after Ariwoola.

Born on May 7, 1958, Justice Kekere-Ekun has spent 11 years on the bench of the apex court after her appointment as the fifth female Justice of the court in July 8, 2013.

She obtained her LL. B in 1980 from the University of Lagos and LL.M from the London School of Economics and Political Science in November 1983. She was called to the Nigerian Bar on 10th July, 1981.

From 1985 to 1989, she was in private practice and was later appointed a Senior Magistrate Grade II, Lagos State Judiciary in December 1989.

Justice Kekere-Ekun was appointed a judge of the High Court of Lagos State on July 19, 1996. She served as the chairman of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos, from November 1996 to May 1999.

On September 22, 2004, she was elevated to the Court of Appeal on where she served in various Divisions and as the presiding justice of two Divisions of the appellate court (Makurdi and Aku) in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

She was elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the fifth female justice of the apex court and sworn in on Monday, July 8, 2013.

A life bencher and presiden of the International Association of Women Judges, Justice Kekere-Ekun has attended numerous courses and seminars within and outside Nigeria and received several merit awards.