Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun of the Supreme Court is set to become the second female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), following in the footsteps of Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, who served as the nation’s first female CJN from July 2012 to November 2014.
Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the current CJN, who assumed office on June 27, 2022, will officially retire on Thursday, August 22, 2024, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Justice Kekere-Ekun, at 66 years old, is the most senior justice of the Supreme Court after Ariwoola, making her the likely successor.
Born on May 7, 1958, Justice Kekere-Ekun has served on the bench of the apex court for 11 years since her appointment as the fifth female justice of the Supreme Court on July 8, 2013.
She earned her LL.B in 1980 from the University of Lagos and her LL.M from the London School of Economics and Political Science in November 1983. She was called to the Nigerian Bar on July 10, 1981.
Justice Kekere-Ekun began her career in private practice from 1985 to 1989 before being appointed a Senior Magistrate Grade II in the Lagos State Judiciary in December 1989. She was later appointed as a judge of the High Court of Lagos State on July 19, 1996, and served as the chairman of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos, from November 1996 to May 1999.
On September 22, 2004, Justice Kekere-Ekun was elevated to the Court of Appeal, where she served in various divisions, including as the presiding justice of the Makurdi and Aku divisions in 2011 and 2012, respectively. She was subsequently elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria and sworn in on July 8, 2013.
A life bencher and president of the International Association of Women Judges, Justice Kekere-Ekun has attended numerous courses and seminars both within and outside Nigeria and has received several merit awards throughout her distinguished career.
