Victor EzejaThough born on 7th May 1958 in the United Kingdom, Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, who is now the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria has her roots in Lagos, where her parents hail from.
Her secondary and university education were in Nigeria. She attended Queens College, Lagos, and studied law at the University of Lagos both between 1970 and 1980. Upon completion of her Bachelor’s degree in Law, Kekere-Ekun proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and thereafter was called to the bar on 10th July 1981. After completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1982, she went to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where she bagged a Master’s degree in law in November 1983.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelWhile her father, Hassan Adisa Babatunde Fasinro, was also a lawyer and politician, her mother, Winifred Layiwola Ogundimu is a nurse trained in the United Kingdom.
Popularly called HAB, Fasinro is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Lagos. He was also a senator who represented Lagos in the Second Republic and the first clerk of the Lagos City Council. It is said that his legal background may have inspired the daughter to make a foray into the profession, which proved successful as she has climbed to the apogee.
Becoming Nigeria’s Second Female CJN
Kekere-Ekun’s name has not only entered the annals of Nigeria’s judicial history as a CJN, but also the second female to take the position, after Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who served from July 2012 to November 2014.
By dint of hard work, passion for the judicial profession and commitment to excellence, Kekere-Ekun, who joined the Lagos State Judiciary with the rank of Senior Magistrate II in 1989, rose to the position of the State High Court Judge in 1996. She served as Chairman of Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja from November 1996 to May 1999.
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She was appointed to the bench of the Nigerian courts of appeal in 2004. Subsequently, she was appointed as Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in July 2013. It was the first female CJN, Justice Mukhtar, who performed her swearing as Supreme Court Justice that year.
According to President Tinubu, her rise to the position of CJN, could serve as a source of inspiration to many women aspiring to break the glass ceiling in different fields including top echelon of the legal profession.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari conferred her with a national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) in October 2022.
One of the remarkable and controversial judicial matters that she was involved in was the judgment of the Supreme Court that sacked Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party from office as governor of Imo State. As a member of the Supreme Court panel, she was the one who read the judgment that declared Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as winner of the election. According to results announced by INEC after the governorship election, Uzodimma came fourth. However, Uzodimma was declared winner based on claims that results from 388 polling units where he led were not included in the original results.
Kekere-Ekun was by the National Judicial Council recommended as the next CJN.
With her successful swearing-in on Friday, 23rd August, Justice Kekere-Ekun will appear before the Nigerian Senate for confirmation. Tinubu expects her to scale through and become a substantive CJN.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
All eyes are on Justice Kekere-Ekun. Let’s see how she will administer the judiciary under her watch