Kekere-Ekun set to emerge Nigeria’s second female CJN

Kekere-Ekun set to emerge Nigeria’s second female CJN

Barring any last-minute change, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun of the Supreme Court is set to emerge as the next chief justice of Nigeria (CJN).

If she assumes the office, Kekere-Ekun would become the second female justice in Nigeria to hold the exalted position after Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, who was CJN between July 2012 and November 2014, spending 28 months in office.

The current occupant of the office, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, 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.

As the most senior justice of the Supreme Court after Ariwoola, Justice Kekere-Ekun is favoured to clinch the position.

The incoming CJN, who is 66 years old, may stay up to four years compared to the average of two years most of her predecessors held the position.

After 11 years at the Supreme Court, Justice Kekere-Ekun will not only become the next CJN but also head the National Judicial Council (NJC), which oversees the appointment, promotion, and discipline of judges across the country.

Justice Kekere-Ekun was born on May 7, 1958 and 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. She 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.

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Kekere-Ekun was elevated to the Court of Appeal on 22nd September, 2004, 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.

She has attended numerous courses and seminars within and outside Nigeria and received several merit awards.

Justice Kekere-Ekun is also a life Bencher, a member of the International Association of Women Judges and its president.

LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that the judiciary has been in the eye of the storm, notably since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999.

With Justice Kekere-Ekun assuming office in the next few weeks, the succession battle in the Supreme Court may be rancour-free for the first time in five years.

Justice Walter Onnoghen, who served as CJN between 7th March, 2017 and 25th January 2019, left controversially after he was accused of failing to declare his assets.

His successor, Justice Tanko Muhammad, who assumed office on 25th January, 2019, followed almost the same pattern after his fellow justices accused him of unfair treatment, particularly in the area of their welfare. He voluntarily resigned on the grounds of ill-health on 27th June, 2022.

The CJN is the head of the government’s judicial arm. He presides over the country’s Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council.

The outgoing CJN (Ariwoola) was appointed acting CJN on 27th June, 2022 upon Justice Tanko Muhammad’s resignation and was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate on 21st September, 2022.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest, and its decisions are final. The president nominates the CJN upon the recommendation by the NJC, and is subject to confirmation by the Senate.

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The CJN holds office at the pleasure of the Nigerian constitution and can only be removed from office due to death or on attainment of age 70, whichever comes first, or by impeachment by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which requires a super majority of the Senate members.

Short Stay In Office Based On Rules – Senior lawyers

In the last 15 years, seven CJNs have presided over the affairs of the nation’s judiciary, which is about an average of two years each for the occupants of that office.

Lawyers have, however, lamented the short stay in office of the CJNs.

According to them, an average of two years in office is not enough to bring about the needed reforms in the country’s judiciary.

However, some senior lawyers who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday were quick to assert that the CJN’s office is not a political appointment.

According to them, it is regulated by law.

A former attorney-general and commissioner for justice in Imo state, Chief Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN), said the apex court is not a political party whose programmes and policies are personal.

According to him, the CJN is an administrator and is not expected to bring his agenda to run the court.

“The court is regulated by law, and the law is the law; there is nothing you can do about it. The Supreme Court is not a political party where one man is expected to bring his agenda to the table after winning election,” he said.

Another lawyer, Barrister Abdul Balogun, said rules for succession to the CJN’s office have already been laid down.

“Laws and rules guide the judiciary, and any attempt to deviate from them is a call to lawlessness, which will negatively impact the country’s judiciary.

“In the judiciary as a whole, it is a laid down rule that the most senior assumes office upon a vacancy in the leadership of any court from the customary court to the Supreme Court. So, any attempt to deviate from that is a call for chaos in the system,” he said

In the last 15 years, the country has produced seven CJNs. While some of them left an indelible mark in office and in the minds of Nigerians with their policies and reforms to the country’s judiciary, others had their tenures characterised by controversies.

Kekere-Ekun set to emerge Nigeria’s second female CJN