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| Justice Kekere-Ekun |
The Senate began screening Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun on September 25, 2024, for her appointment as Chief Justice of Nigeria. Accompanying her were other Supreme Court judges and senior presidential aides.
This screening follows President Bola Tinubu's request to the Senate for her confirmation, made on September 24, 2024.
If confirmed, Kekere-Ekun will be the 23rd Chief Justice and the second woman to hold this position in Nigeria's history.
The first female to occupy the exalted seat was Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who was the CJN between July 2012 and November 2014.
Meanwhile, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, read Tinubu’s letter during plenary on Tuesday.
In the letter, Tinubu cited Section 231(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which empowers him to appoint the CJN based on recommendations from the National Judicial Council, pending Senate approval.
The President expressed confidence in her nomination and urged the Senate to act urgently.
“I hereby forward the nomination of Honourable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, CON, for confirmation as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. I trust that this request will receive the Senate’s prompt consideration and approval,” Tinubu stated in his message to the lawmakers.
Senate President Akpabio then referred the nomination to the Committee of the Whole for deliberation on the next legislative sitting, a report of Channels Television, stated.
Recall that the National Judicial Council (NJC) had, in August, recommended Justice Kekere-Ekun to President Tinubu as successor to the former CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
The 66-year-old jurist has been serving as the Acting CJN since Justice Ariwoola retired last month.
Kekere-Ekun was born on May 7, 1958, in London, United Kingdom. Her journey in the legal profession commenced at the University of Lagos where she obtained her first degree in law in 1980.
After she completed the Nigeria Law School, she was called to the Nigerian Bar on July 10, 1981.
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