Julius OkorieJustice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun has stepped in as the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), following her swearing in Friday, at the State House Abuja, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Justice Kekere-Ekun will however be in acting capacity, pending confirmation by the Senate.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelJustice Kekere-Ekun is assuming her new role as CJN following the retirement of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and her nomination and presentation to President Tinubu by the National Judicial Council (NJC) on 15th August.
Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, thus becomes the second Nigerian female jurist to serve as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, after Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who was the Chief Justice of Nigeria between July 2012 and November, 2014.
Among those who witnessed the event were other Justices of the Supreme Court; the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; the leadership of the House of Representatives, represented by Prof Julius Ihonbvere; the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
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Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume; National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris were also in attendance.
Kekere Ekun was born on 7th May 1958 in London, United Kingdom. In 1980, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Lagos and was admitted to the Nigeria Bar on 10 July 1981, having graduated from the Nigerian Law School before she proceeded to the London School of Economics where she received a master’s degree in Law in November 1983.
How The Journey To The Top Started
Kudirat joined the Lagos State Judiciary as Senior Magistrate II and rose to the position of the State High Court Judge. She served as Chairman of Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, from November 1996 to May 1999.
She was appointed to the bench of the Nigerian courts of appeal in 2004 before her appointment as Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in July 2013.
In 2020, Kekere-Ekun was on the seven-member panel that sacked Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha and declared that the winning candidate was Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who originally came fourth in the election results. Ihedioha described the verdict as “unfair, unjust and does not reflect the voting that took place during the elections”, but said he would respect the judgement.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
