THE Senate has confirmed Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
This makes her the second female to hold the position of CJN in Nigeria.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, formally announced Kekere-Ekun’s confirmation on Wednesday, September 25 after senators approved her via voice vote.
Kekere-Ekun faced a nearly two-hour screening by lawmakers, who grilled her with questions focused on judicial reforms.
The Senate Committee of the Whole subsequently cleared her, paving the way for her confirmation as the CJN in accordance with Section 231(1) of the Constitution.
After her confirmation, Akpabio expressed confidence that Nigeria would receive fair justice under Kekere-Ekun’s leadership as the new CJN. He then congratulated her.
Akpabio emphasised the importance of maintaining the judiciary’s integrity during the session.
While facing the senators, Kekere-Ekun stressed her firm stance against corruption in the judiciary.
“All pre-election matters will terminate at the Court of Appeal. I have zero tolerance for corruption,” she said.
Since August, Kekere-Ekun has been leading the judiciary in an interim position, after succeeding Olukayode Ariwoola.
The ICIR reported that President Bola Tinubu swore in Kekere-Ekun as the new CJN on August 23.
Tinubu who returned to the country from France in the early hours of Friday, August 23, administered the oath of office on Kekere-Ekun at the Council Chamber of the State House.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the next CJN on Thursday, August 15, following the end of the tenure of former CJN, Ariwoola.
The ICIR reported that Ariwoola retired on Thursday, August 22, after clocking 70 years.
Kekere-Ekun, 66, is now the second female CJN after Maryam Aloma Mukhtar.
She was elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the 5th female justice of the court and was sworn in July 2013.
Born on May 7, 1958, Kekere-Ekun has spent 11 years on the bench of the apex court.
She graduated with an LL. B. from the University of Lagos in 1980 and an LL.M. in November 1983 from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
She was called to the Nigerian Bar on July 10, 1981.
Kekere-Ekun was named a judge of the Lagos State High Court on July 19, 1996.
From November 1996 to May 1999, she presided over the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal in Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos.
She was promoted to the Court of Appeal on September 22, 2004, where she served in several Divisions before presiding over the appellate court’s Makurdi and Aku Divisions in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
A reporter with the ICIR
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