President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria. Kekere-Ekun took the oath of office and signed the oath register at 11.40 am in the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja, on Friday.
With her appointment, she becomes the second female Chief Justice in Nigeria’s history.
Kekere-Ekun (CFR) was tipped to become the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) following her recommendation by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday, August 15.
Kekere-Ekun takes over from Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who stepped down on August 22, 2024.
Here are some things to know about her.
1. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun was born on May 7, 1958, in London.
2. Her late father, Senator Hassan Adisa Babatunde Fasinro, was a lawyer and a former senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
3. She attended Queen’s College in 1970 for her secondary school education.
4. She obtained her LL.B. in 1980 from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar on 10th July 1981. She received her LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in November 1983.
5. She worked in private practice for some years before joining the Lagos State Judiciary as Senior Magistrate II in 1989.
6. She rose to the position of state high court judge and was appointed on July 19, 1996.
7. She was Chairman of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, between November 1996 and May 1999.
8. She also served as a member of the committee that drafted the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2004 from April 2002 till December 2002.
9. In September 2004, she was elevated to the Court of Appeal, where she served in five different divisions across the country and as a presiding justice of two divisions of the court (Makurdi & Akure).
10. She was one of the first three judges of the Lagos State High Court selected to try offenses relating to financial crimes and money laundering under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, 2004, and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
11. Kekere-Ekun was elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the 5th female justice of the court in June 2013.
12. In 2020, Kekere-Ekun was on the seven-member panel that declared Hope Uzodinma the lawful candidate of Imo State.
13. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Merit Awards of the Lagos State Judiciary.
14. She was conferred with the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2022.
15. She belongs to several professional associations and groups, including the National Association of Women Judges and the International Association of Women Judges.
16. She is married to Akin Kekere-Ekun (OFR), and they are blessed with three children.