PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES
The National Judicial Council (NJC) will convene on Friday, August 16, to determine the next Chief Justice of Nigeria, succeeding Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
On August 22, Ariwoola will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 and exit the apex court.
According to a source at the Supreme Court, the NJC has scheduled a meeting for Friday to determine the successor to the current Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The source said the NJC’s recommendation would be forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for consideration.
The source said: “The NJC has fixed Friday to meet to take a decision on the name to be forwarded to the President on who the next CJN would be. No name has been sent to the President yet, as the NJC has not even met.”
The Supreme Court currently has a full complement of 21 justices.
In the long tradition of the apex court, the next most senior justice will likely step in.
According to their hierarchies, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is the most senior Justice on the apex court bench and the likeliest successor.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a valedictory session for the same day to pay tribute to Justice Ariwoola for his dedicated service to the nation.
He took over as CJN on October 12, 2022, replacing Justice Tanko Mohammed.
According to Section 231(4) of the 1999 Constitution, the departure of Justice Ariwoola will pave the way for a new Chief Justice of Nigeria, with the most senior Supreme Court justice taking over.
If confirmed as the next CJN, Justice Kekere-Ekun will become the second woman to hold the position in Nigeria’s history, after Justice Aloma Mukhtar’s tenure from 2012 to 2014.
She will serve a four-year term, steering the judiciary until her retirement in 2028, at the age of 70.
Kekere-Ekun, a distinguished Life Bencher, began her legal career in private practice from 1985 to 1989.
She then transitioned to public service, becoming a Senior Magistrate Grade II in the Lagos State Judiciary in December 1989.
Her subsequent appointments include Judge of the High Court of Lagos State in 1996 and Chairman of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos, from 1996 to 1999.
Kekere-Ekun’s career advancement continued with her elevation to the Court of Appeal on September 22, 2004.
She served in multiple divisions of the court and held the position of presiding justice in two divisions, Makurdi and Aku, in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Her subsequent elevation to the Supreme Court of Nigeria marked a historic milestone, as she became the fifth female justice to be sworn in on July 8, 2023.
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