Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the most senior justice of the Supreme Court, is poised to become the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) when the current CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, retires on August 22, 2024.
If appointed, Justice Kekere-Ekun will be the second female CJN in Nigeria’s history, following Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, who served from 2012 to 2014, spending 28 months in office.
The current occupant of the office, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who assumed office on June 27, 2022, will formally bow out on Thursday, August 22, 2024, after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.
As the most senior justice of the Supreme Court after Ariwoola, Justice Kekere-Ekun is favoured to clinch the position.
The incoming CJN, who is 66 years old, may stay up to four years compared to the average of two years most of her predecessors held the position.
After 11 years at the Supreme Court, Justice Kekere-Ekun will not only become the next CJN but also head the National Judicial Council (NJC), which oversees the appointment, promotion, and discipline of judges across the country.
