President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the Nigerian Senate to screen and confirm Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
In a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday, as the upper chamber resumed from its summer recess, Tinubu invoked Section 231(1) of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution, which empowers the president to appoint a Chief Justice upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC), subject to Senate confirmation.
The letter stated: “I am honoured to forward the nomination of Honourable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun CON for confirmation as CJN. It is my hope that this request will receive the Senate’s expeditious consideration.”
Justice Kekere-Ekun, who was sworn in as Acting Chief Justice on 23rd August 2024, will hold the position in an interim capacity until Senate approval. She is the second woman to hold the position of Nigeria’s top jurist.
Her appointment follows the retirement of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, and her nomination was recommended to President Tinubu by the NJC in mid-August.
Justice Kekere-Ekun’s career in law spans several decades. Born in London on May 7, 1958, she earned her law degree from the University of Lagos in 1980 and was called to the Nigerian Bar the following year. She now follows in the footsteps of Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who became Nigeria’s first female Chief Justice between 2012 and 2014.
