The Senate has finally confirmed Justice Dongban Mensem as president of the Court of Appeal. Dongban Mensem’s confirmation on Thursday, June 11, came days after her nomination by President Buhari.
Here are some facts about her.
1. Justice Monica Bolna’an Dongban-Mensem was born on 13th June 1957.
2. She is the daughter of M.B. Douglas-Mensem, a retired appeal court justice.
3. She bagged her LL.B. and LL.M. from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Nigeria, and a postgraduate diploma from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, Russel Square, London.
4. She was Registrar of the Plateau State High Court in 1979 and Magistrate of various grades up to Chief Magistrate between 1981 and 1990.
5. She was a visiting lecturer on press law at the Catholic Media Centre, Kaduna, from 1988 to 1992 and a part-time lecturer at the University of Jos between 1989 and 1997.
6. She served as Deputy Chief Registrar, Superior Courts, and Protocol Affairs from 1990 to 1993 and was appointed Judge, High Court of Justice, Plateau Judiciary, from 1993 to 1996.
7. Dongban-Mensem became the judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Judiciary from 1997 to 2003.
8. She was Acting Presiding Justice of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal between November and December 2009.
9. She launched a book titled ‘The Defendant’ in 1991.
10. She founded Pa William Mensem Education and Scholarship Foundation (PAWMESFO) in 2009. The foundation was able to build a school, named after the jurist’s father, Pa William Mensem, in Plateau State.
11. She founded a road safety organization called Kwapda’as Road Safety Demand (KRSD) after she lost her first son, Prince Samson Kwapda’as Dongban. It is the most efficient and popular road safety NGO in Nigeria.
12. She is a mother of four children (one deceased) and two grandchildren.
13. Before she was nominated Appeal Court President, she was appointed Acting President, Court of Appeal, on Mar 6, 2020.